The Exorcist Files
by Hiei'sTreeHuggingGirlfriend
Summary: Zack DeRoy has cracked dozens of cases involving some of the worst scum this side of the city. However, he may be in over his head when he taken on a case that leads back to one of the greatest mysteries to date. The Black Order. Modern Day OCs galore.
1. Case One: God Matter

Hello and Welcome. This is my first DGM story, so forgive any off stuff. The first chapter deals mainly with all the OCs. There's going to be a lot of them, please be patient with the DGM part of the story. It comes, it just takes awhile. Sorry. Anyways, enjoy.~~~~~

Sirens sounded for a brief instant. Blue and red lights flashed all around and everywhere there were people in blue uniforms. They hustled here and there, murmuring and working all at once to keep things clear. Yellow tape kept the crowd out of a section of the street, an alley way.

This was a crime scene.

Curious people crowded around, arching and craning their necks to try and see what was happening while the police stood guard, preventing any of the ordinary citizens from entering in on the scene. The crowd was a calm one, hardly causing problems except for one or two that were easily put back into line with a shout from one of the uniformed men.

Shoving his way through the crowds, a man walked. He moved fast, a person with a purpose in mind as he made his way forwards. Authority flared in his gray eyes as he swept his way along, but not alone. Four others followed in toe of him, carrying many pieces of equipment with them. From cameras to kits, they were moving hurriedly past everyone in the crowds to the point of thrusting people out of their way.

Three were men, with different faces and races, and a single women tagged along beside them all. She stood as an equal among these men at their man's job, so to speak. Finally at the front of the crowd the lead man ducked under the yellow tape, the other four following his example. Several of the guards at the tape line sprang to action.

" HEY-!" he hollered only to freeze at the sight of the cold gray eyes that glared loathingly back at him behind a curtain of black hair that hung about his head, dangling in his face. The guard flinched away and the man continued moving forwards as his team followed after once more.

" Sorry about that," said a friendly male among them, smiling at the poor man who'd been victim to his boss' harsh gaze, flipping his badge to the cop in question," I'm Agent Connell, and that there is Special Agent DeRoy."

Now that was a name this cop recognized. Special Agent Zack DeRoy was a ruthless man, notorious and feared for his skill as an investigator. Everybody in the firm knew the name of this man with the black shoulder length hair and cold gray eyes. He was rather famous, not only for his dedication to his work, but for a wicked reputation for commanding his team and others whom have the misfortune to interrupt his cases in anyway.

Connell was a friendly looking man, young with his brown hair cut short in the back so that his bangs hung long in his face in front of his eyes, illuminating his bright blue eyes. Smiling still, he patted the man on the shoulder.

" Please keep the crowds back while we gather evidence, won't you?" he kept smiling at the cop.

" CONNELL!!" came a harsh snarl from beyond the man into the alleyway and Connell leaped in fright to attention, grabbing up his heavy case of equipment.

" Coming, Chief!!" he answered and rushed over to his companions, lugging the suit case of supplies along with both hands.

The team of five stood around the body as Connell approached, setting the suit case down and stooping to catch his breath a moment.

" What have we got?" he asked, glancing up then straightened again. Kneeling down, he examined the body with a somewhat unnerving curiosity.

The body was a women in her mid-twenties at the oldest. She was on her back, knees bent and flopped to her right, one arm up over her head and the other at her side. The body was next to a dumpster in the alleyway.

" My goodness," Connell murmured, holding his hand up above the body and tracing along the slender form in the air," how did a nice, west side gal end up on this side of town at this time of night?"

" The same way we did, numb nuts," said a dark tanned man with a sarcastic note in his voice, " got off our asses and drove down here."

" Well, we'll need to confirm that by finding the vehicle first, Zagar." said the other man, softly, but with a hint of mockery at Zagar and Connell.

" We'll find out what happened." Agent DeRoy said, firmly.

" No blood," commented the girl, flicking her flashlight right and left along the alleyway in the darkness, " there's some bruising and cuts though. Strangulation?" she suggested, thoughtfully.

" A nice thought, but look," DeRoy said, turning his flashlight to show the white skin of the lifeless form, " there's no signs of bruising around her neck." There were nods of agreement among the five of them to this fact, and a brief silence followed while DeRoy leaned down to get a better look at the body. "Zagar, what do you think?"

Zagar stepped forwards, the dark skinned man who'd spoken before, coming up next to his boss so that the leader of the team could see clearly into those dark black, calculating eyes. He placed a hand to his only slightly fuzzy chin, and rub, thoughtfully taking in the sight.

" No real way to tell at this point," he admitted, careful with his choice of words, " but with no blood visible and nothing but a few other scratches and bruises, it suggests something internal. Like drug overdose, or maybe poison." he suggested.

" We'll need the autopsy report to be sure, right?" DeRoy spoke bitterly, and Zagar laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

" That's usually how it goes. Sorry, Chief." he said, but his Chief waved him away with a single flick of his wrist.

" Well, I'm gonna see if she's got anything under her nails." the girl had already begun to open her case and pulling out what she needed before coming up on the opposite side of her boss and co-worker.

" Bag and tag, Kennedy," DeRoy said, then turned to the quiet man," Smith, give her a hand. We need as much as possible before we leave for the night."

" Aye, sir." Smith said, softly like the first time, and got right to work.

" Zagar, get to work on photos. Get everything." emphasizing the point to his Middle Eastern worker. It wasn't that he was prejudice. Quite the opposite. He wanted Zagar to push himself to get as much as he could. DeRoy met his dark eyes with his own storm colored eyes. "We don't have much time and a lot of ground to cover-"

" Got it, Chief." Zagar said, dipping into his smaller kit case.

Spinning on his heels, Zack marched towards the closest cop whom seemed to be supervising security of the scene. The man glanced over and set himself firmly as DeRoy approached, Connell following in toe because he'd yet to be assigned a job to do.

" What can I help you with, Investigator?" he asked DeRoy before DeRoy could say anything to him first. DeRoy gave the man a long, hard stare, and smirked, slightly at him.

Right to the point. Good.

" Did anybody find any ID on her?" he gestured towards the alley where his people were hard at work already.

The cop became nervous then. The Special Agent read this by his sudden change from firm to unsure while he glanced at the ground and shifted slightly on his feet.

" Didn't find any, I assume?" he said, and the man stared at him a moment. "Anybody recognize the body? Seen her in the area before, anything like that?"

" That couple over their found the body." he gestured to where an ambulance had pulled up along the outside of the crowds with a young pair of lovers settled on the back of it. DeRoy nodded, turning his gaze to Connell, who knew what his Chief wanted right away.

" I'm on it." he said, digging out his pen and notepad from his coat pockets.

However, his boss motioned for him to follow for a moment, leaving the other man to his work once again. This wasn't abnormal, after all, his boss confided many things that he simply couldn't tell to his entire time for fear of losing their support. The two of them stood apart, facing each other.

" What business does a girl like that have on this side of town, Connell?" DeRoy asked, gazing around on the ground, observing, inspecting it for clues left behind. Connell was comfortable with this situation, as it happened a lot. DeRoy needed people to bounce ideas off of, and Connell was just the man to help him do this.

Kneeling down, DeRoy narrowed his eyes, obviously thinking hard. Connell knew that face all too well, and smiled.  
Looking down at his leader, he thought a moment.

" Hooker, maybe? Then there's the chance she bad a boyfriend who lived in these parts." he added on as an after thought. DeRoy looked up at Connell, his eyebrows raised quizzically at his employee. "Hey, sometimes good chicks go for bad boys." Now DeRoy smirked and chuckled.

" Like to know where all those girls are for us." he said with a rueful laugh. Connell laughed lightly too. " Could it be family, Connell?" Connell blinked, confused moment. Then, putting a hand on his chin, he thought it over.

" What? You think this could be domestic, Chief?" Connell asked." It's possible, but it certainly doesn't seem likely at this point. If it is personal then there's usually some other factor from a past grudge. A hate crime with pants pulled down or something like that. Domestics seem to be more severe too. This seems rather light for a grudge."

DeRoy bit his thumb, thoughtfully for a few moments. His eyes still flicked around, his mind clearly gearing and focused. It was how he was by nature, DeRoy. He was always cool and thoughtful.

"Something just feels off about all of this" he admitted, carefully. Connell was lost.

" Seems normal to me. Off how?" he asked back, crossing his arms, thinking too. DeRoy glanced up at him again, then away after only an instant. He shrugged, allowing his eyes to wonder further away from the point where he crouched.

" Like this whole thing is some sort of set up." DeRoy replied, getting a gasp from Connell. " That somebody put the body here for us to find."

" Chief, are you serious?" the instant it hit the air, Connell knew he had said something he shouldn't have. He payed for it. DeRoy's eyes flashed and he frowned profoundly at Connell.

" No," his voice was thick with sarcasm," I just like pulling you leg, rookie. I enjoy the chance to worry you unnecessarily." Connell grinned, sheepishly while his boss shook his head. " I know it's late, but use your head, not your dick, Connell." DeRoy snapped.

"Sorry, Chief." Connell apologized, smiling despite his embarresment. However, the two were interrupted.

"CHIEF!" Zagar hollered from down the alleyway, catching the attention of DeRoy and Connell. " You better have a look at this!"

DeRoy and Connell headed quickly over to Zagar and Kennedy.

" Look at this," Zagar insisted," we couldn't see it at first because the body was on its back and its dark but . . ." his voice trailed. Gently, Kennedy turned the body over to show them. Connell's face twisted in horror,but DeRoy simply frowned more at the sight.

On the back of the woman were huge, gaping gashes, with giant pieces of flesh missing. Huge, like her back was hacked apart by a long hunting knife or large dagger. It was only her back, not even her shoulders were cut enough to be considered something abnormal of a scratch. The skin was torn and pieces of her back hung off the body in great masses.

DeRoy knelt down, observing more closely the part of the body that had been ripped to ribbons. Connell swallowed the bad taste that had been forming at the back of his throat as his boss slipped on a glove to help his inspection along. Kennedy turned her hazel eyes away, disturbed by the sight of this, even at second glance.

" Kennedy, don't you turn away," DeRoy's sharp voice hit the air with a great deal of warning to the girl whom flinched away," its part of your job. Turn and look." he commanded, but Kennedy shook her head, turning totally away from them all. DeRoy sighed, clasping her shoulder with a hard, unshakable hand.

" Remember that there is a reason we must do what we do." Slowly, she turned back, and DeRoy set to checking the body over. Her eyes filled with tears and he flashed the light across the damage to the body, but she never turned away, not once.

" You were right, Chief." Connell, whom had kneeled down with his own flashlight to help with the inspection. He left the light pointed at one spot in particular, never letting it leave the spot in question.

DeRoy squirmed his way over to get a look at what Connell had found. His eyes glued instantly to what Connell wanted to show him. With a gentle hand, he turned so the spot faced upwards so he might get a better look.

" That's sick" Smith spoke up now, shaking his head.

" 'God Matter' . . ." DeRoy murmured, his voice trailing away into the night air like smoke from a cigarette.

" What's that supposed to mean?" said a shaky Kennedy.

" I dunno . . ." DeRoy admitted.~~~~

That's chapter 1. Hope you liked it. I own all of these OC characters and none of the DGM characters that will show up eventually. This is my disclaimer by the way. Anyways, review and tell me what you think.


	2. Case Two: The Team

Chapter two is now up and ready to be well read. So what are you waiting for? Go read. NOW.~~~

This was the beginning of one of the biggest cases that Zack DeRoy ever became involved in.

Zack headed for the shooting range bright and early that morning. It was a bad habit, really. Carrying his gun around like Zack did all the time, but he couldn't help it. He went to the shooting range every Thursday morning, and occasionally when he was frustrated with something or someone that he felt the need to blow off steam.

Anyways, after this Zack checked the time and decided it was about time he started getting ready for work. He cleaned his gun, a different one then the ones the regular officers. When he had entered the force, he had been told he needed a special license so that he could use the gun he already had before hand. Smiling, he got to every little part of the gun he could manage and checking it over carefully before he finally decided that he'd done a good job.

Then he put it away in his holster and gathered his belongings, heading out.

This case was a tough one, and Zack simply couldn't stop thinking about it. They had no name, no witnesses, and nobody in the area who'd seen her before. The body could have been dragged to that spot for the killer to dispose of . . .but why would he leave her in plain sight? The roads may not be busy at some hours of the night, but the body was in such a spot all you had to do was look down the alley to know that someone was lying on the ground. It seemed too obvious if you wanted to dispose of the body . . .and their were easier ways to do it, too. Zack knew that.

Then there was that message scrawled into her back. "God Matter" Zack recalled, thinking while he walked down the hallways towards the huge conference room his team shared. That was a curious message to leave on person's back. The woman hadn't looked to be hugely religious . . .no sign of a cross or Star of David on her. Then again, they couldn't be sure of that if they didn't know her name or have the contents of a purse or wallet.

That was another thing that really bothered him. The lack of evidence about the victum herself. Other then she was in her twenties, had wavy brown hair and brown eyes, they knew absolutely nothing about the victum. That and anything that could be found in the autopsy were all he and his team would have to go on for this one.

Dammit, he thought, I hate all the waiting and questions at the beginning of cases . . .

BANG!!

Zack was thrown backwards onto the floor along with whomever had bumped into him as well.

" Yikes!! Sorry!!" exclaimed the other person. The instant he saw the person, Zack kicked himself mentally. "Chief?"

" Connell, what are you doing?" Zack mumbled darkly, getting to his feet and dusting himself off. Connell clamored to help Zack up, but Zack slapped his hand away. Zack leaned down to gather his bag.

" Checking in on the autopsy." Connell replied, mildly. Gray eyes flicked up at Connell.

" And? Got a cause of death?" Zack prompted, eager for something, anything so his team might do something productive for the day. Any sort of clue they could work with.

" Not yet, but I started running her prints through our data base while I was down there." Connell said. Well, that was something that could help. " Have a look at this though, Chief. It's pretty crazy." Connell handed his boss a picture from a set he had tucked under his arm.

Eyes glued to the photo the instant he got it, Zack began walking again, so suddenly that Connell staggered to keep up with his team leader." We didn't see this at first because of the darkness, but it showed when the coroner took her out to start his examination."

" Are those . . .?" Zack's voice trailed while kept walking, but never once looked up from the photo.

" Metal pieces in her spine? Yes. That's not even the half of it." Connell told him, holding out his collection of photos for Zack to take and examine. Then he began to list all the different things off with his fingers. " She also has bruises so big that it looks like she'd been bludgeoned, several still healing internal organs, at one time or another she's broken both of her arms and legs broken, and three of her ribs are totally gone." Zack stared slightly at Connell then back at the photos.

" This girl's body was a mess." he said with a surprised, but level voice.

" Here's what makes this so weird. All of these happened on separate occasions." Connell just kept adding more to his report as he went. Zack raised his eyebrows at Connell.

" Unusual?" he asked, a hint of humor in his voice. Connell raised both his brows.

" Unusual hardly tells the half of it." he answered with a smirk. " The bruising was the most recent post modem." Connell handed Zack the final photo he'd bothered to hold onto, and Zack observed it with equal interest as he'd done the rest, rounding a sharp corner.

" Long, not fatal, a metal bat, maybe?"

" It's possible. But why would there be a sudden change to the killer's weapon?"

" We might be dealing with more then one."

" But, none of this makes sense, Zack. There weren't any signs of a struggle in the alley when we got there, and the victim seems to have struggled only a little bit. Then there's these giant bruises and the toxin screening came out negative for everything."Connell blurted out, quickly. Zack turned his gaze interestedly at Connell once again.

This guy had been working hard this morning already. It was barely 9am.

" Clean tox screen, giant bruises and small minor bumps and cuts as they only signs of a struggle," he reached out and patted Connell's shoulder sympathetically, smiling and sighing at the man whom he'd come to regard as a friend," someone has certainly been busy this morning, hasn't he?" Connell ignored the nice gesture briefly with a wave of his hand as he rubbed his forehead.

" Well, someone has to." he spoke without thinking, then realized what his boss had been trying to say and grinned at him. " Opps, sorry, yeah, I've been a morning person since high school so I work pretty well this early." They smiled at each other for a bit.

" You're the opposite of me. I do better thinking during the evening, especially around mid-night." he added, thoughtfully, wondering if this might be something he should think about trying to change. However, he immediately dismissed the idea the second after he had thought of it.

" Got low blood pressure, Chief?" Connell suggested, as they pushed open the door to the conference room for their team.

" Nay, just not much of a coffee person." Zack laughed when Connell's expression twisted to one of embarrassment while he headed for his desk, where a mug of coffee was sitting ready to drink at his desk.

" You're not both talking about Connell's full on addiction to coffee, are you?" Zagar asked, sitting on his desktop with his feet on his chair in the desk to the left of Connell's on the left side of the room.

Across from him, Kennedy was leaning greatly on the back of her chair, the way a high school person would that a teacher would scold for the fact that the student in question might crack his head open if he or she leaned back too far.

The desk across from Connell's belonged to Smith, whom was the only one seated properly in his chair while he used his leg to work on a crossword puzzle.

" No, just about how I can't wake up in the morning." Zack answered, setting his bag off to the side of his chair that was located at the desk in the back of the room, right across from the entrance, but also the furthest from this door.

" I was never any good at waking up in the morning either." Kennedy commented, finally setting the front two legs of her chair back onto the floor of the room. "6am wake up calls were a bitch for me."

" Never had that problem myself," Zagar said, and Smith gave a nod of agreement too, though he didn't look up from his crossword puzzle," I should have guessed Smith would be the type to be an early bird. Connell's an early bird, but he wouldn't be if it wasn't for the invention of coffee."

" That man was an absolute genius."

" Or a total idiot." Smith added in, getting an incredulous look from Connell.

" Did anybody bother to test that sample Kennedy got from under our Jane Doe's nails?" Zack asked, finally deciding that this was enough mild conversation. Smith waved his hand at Zack, not looking up from the crossword as he scribbled something down on it.

" Tested it. Human skin and blood."

"Enough to get DNA?" Zack didn't care that Smith never looked up at him.

" Yep. Running it through our data base now." he replied. " With the finger prints and DNA, we'll hopefully ID our vic and killer all at once." Zack kept standing, standing confidently as he could appear.

" We'll hardly be so lucky, Smith. We need more then that." he placed the photos Connell had recovered this morning over top of Smith's crossword puzzle.

Smith regarded this action with mild interest to his leader, then looked through the photos carefully and for a good amount of time before handing them off to Kennedy next him. He went right back to his crossword, looking almost unperturbed.

" Somebody beat her?" he asked, very mildly then should be suspected of one suggesting that a woman had been abused.

" What about the internal wounds, Smith?" Connell asked across the way. " That would be made with a blade. You think she could survive that without getting medical help?"

" Hard to say," Zagar said, holding up the x-ray of her chest above his head to get the light through it, " I think the ribs went before those injuries to the internal organs happened."

" Uh, that means she's been walking around with half a rib cage." Kennedy was pretty disgusted with that idea. " She'd have to get treated for those wounds if her ribs weren't there to protect her organs, wouldn't she?"

" We'll have to wait for more when the autopsy gets here." Connell said, right to the point. Zack tapped his fingers impatiently, and walked for the door. Everyone else stood and followed along with him as he went out the door.

The door of the coroner's lab flung open, and all of them froze the instant they looked inside.

There were three people standing in the room, and none of them were the ones performing an autopsy. They wore long, black uniforms, a cross crest showing proudly on each of their left sides. These were dangerous people, Zack could feel it in the air.

Blood lust was a familiar thing to him, and these three men had it.~~~~~

What next? You'll have to keep reading to find out, sillies!! Review and Read more when I update, please!!


	3. Case Three: You're Dead

New chapter up and ready to go! Hope everyone's excited for more, cause there's plenty more to come. Please read and REVIEW ME!! PLEASE!! Okay, read first.~~

Instantly, guns hit the air on the side that Zack was at.

" POLICE! Backs against the wall!!" Zack hollered with a booming voice that only appeared in time of crisis. It was clear that he was the authority figure here, and he was used to people listening to what he said. Around him, Kennedy and Connell edged out on his left and Zagar and Smith did the same on the right. All in the blink of an eye, however, the situation was flipped.

The black clothed man on the left was a burly, big man with an apparent amount of muscle mass. This one set Connell slamming into the wall before the poor kid could react to his movements. Connell hit the floor, slumped over, knocked out while the same man in black rid Kennedy of her gun and twisted her arm behind her back, holding her by her wrists.

Meanwhile, the one on the right was a small, much thinner figure then the other two he came with, a hood firmly on his head. This one delivered a swift kick to Zagar's gut, sending the tan skinned man to his knees making gagging sounds. Smith was able to get off one shot that grazed this black clothed man's shoulder slightly. The man swung his elbow into Smith's face, then punched Smith so hard there was a dent in the wall where he hit into it. Then he too, slumped over the ground, but was unfortunately wide awake to feel the pain of his injuries.

The third came at Zack, faster then the leader of this team would've expected. He hardly knew what hit him. Then the third man in black grabbed Zack by the neck, choking him. Zack gagged and struggled for his breath while he was thrown against the wall while the strong hand held his throat.

" Out of the way, scum!" snapped this one, dark and cold voiced, like a snake. " You want to live?"

Through blurred eyes, Zack could see that this person that held him with such force was just a kid! This hand that choked off his breath was a few years younger then his entire team, him included. Maybe 18 years old or so. He was clearly of Asian decent, and his hair was long and black, tied high and back except for his bangs that were cut neatly.

Clearly, he wasn't in a very good mood, either.

" Get the body already!" he snarled at the others with him. Zagar, crouching on his hands and knees as he'd lost his breakfast to the floor, suddenly let out a sardonic laugh. At first it was soft, but it grew quickly into a ridiculous, sadistic laugh at the boy.

" You better let our Chief go- if you wanna live-boy-" Zagar said in a soft voice, still laughing. Now Smith joined in as confused faces looked at the two co-workers.

" If I wanna live-?!" the boy began to say it disgustedly back, but . . .

CLICK,CLICK.

That sound drew his dark eyes back to the investigator he held by the neck. A gun was at his head. Zack continued to gasp for breath and try to pry his neck free of the boy's hand, but the gun hand was at the boy's head. Smith and Zagar just kept on laughing in that sinister way, and even Kennedy began to snicker too.

" He wouldn't-"

" Chief would. He's shot a man before." Zagar told him.

" He's got nothin' to lose, killing you, kid." Smith put in.

" I'm also pretty sure he could shot you faster then you could finish strangling him." Zagar finished the sentence he had started earlier. Pointing he added. " He's compromised that sword of yours too. Look at that." the boy did, indeed look.

His sword was embedded in the floor several feet away. Out of his reach. The shorter of the people in black inched to go get his companions weapon, but Zack saw that. With a quick turn of the gun, he shot by the short man's feet, making him jump forwards away from the sword. Instantly, the gun returned to its first target.

" Your team-!" he began to try and make a threat out of this, but was interrupted by Kennedy's sudden cackle.

" You underestimate us!!" she shrieked, ramming her elbow into the gut of the big man that held her captive. This gave her enough time to free her hands and grab the man by the wrists. Heaving him over her shoulder, she threw him to the ground like a wrestler, with a strength comparable to that of The Hulk. A loud "OOFF" hit the air and she forced his elbow behind his back and twisted to discourage any resistance.

Meanwhile, Smith used the wall to send himself flying at his and Zagar's opponent. His elbow met this man's gut, and Zagar tripped him so that the man hit the ground. Abruptly, Zagar and Smith sat down on the man's back, pinning this smaller man down.

" Let's see how you like breakfast the second time around." Smith said and Zagar shared a high five with his co-worker.

" I owe you, man." Zagar said with a grin, wiping his face with an aching hand.

The boy stood alone now, stuck. In the hazed eyes of Zack, he could see the twinkle of victory show it the man's gray eyes. It infuriated him, but he'd lost to a normal person! Then, the gun in Zack's hand began to tremble. It shook as the world around him began to become less clear. He struggled to keep his hand steady.

" Chief!!" Zagar exclaimed, and finally his body was able to get air. Not soon enough to ward off the unconsious. ~~

"Chief?" asked a voice as his gray, hazed eyes fluttered open. Dazed a moment, Zack sat up despite himself.

"Easy, Chief," It was Smith, and he helped support his woozy leader. He held the mask to Zack's face, a small machine giving him air.

" I found it in the other room. Knew it was there, really." Kennedy informed Zack, whom nodded his head in understanding.

This wasn't a good idea, as his head started spinning again the instant he stopped moving his head. He had to wait for a few minutes for his head to stop this before glancing around. His eyes found Connell, who was still out cold, on an examination table.

" Just a bad hit to the head. Zagar says he'll be fine." she assured him and Zack opted for a thumbs up this time rather then nodding his head.

"-Lazy kid-always-sleeping-" he whispered in a raspy voice, getting laughs from his officers. Looking around, Zack saw the three black clothed figures off in the corner of the room, guarded by Zagar. Then he looked to the body of the nameless victim of his case.

Slowly, Zack eased his feet to the floor. Naturally, Kennedy and Smith tried to stop him.

"Chief!"

" You need to rest, Chief, sit back down at least-!" Kennedy insisted, but Zack waved her away, grabbing her shoulder to steady himself.

" I'm-fine-" he wheezed, stumbling and getting caught by Kennedy and Smith. With a smile, he thanks them for helping him over to the examine table with the body on it.

Jerking his head, he gestured for Smith to turn the body over. Smith did so, and Zack examined the exposed spine, bone, and tissue as Kennedy frowned profoundly at the sight again. Zack observed it with calm, searching eyes. Reaching into the tray of medical supplies, he pulled out a magnifying glass, checking the spine over, more slowly and closely this time. When he pointed, Kennedy took the glass and looked.

" My god, Chief, this is disgusting." she told him and he rolled his eyes at her. "Zagar, come here, you'll understand this better then Smith or me." She exchanged places with Zagar, whom now took a look.

" You're a tough little girl." the big man that Kennedy had performed her wrestling move on commented. She grinned at him.

" Grew up with three older brothers and one younger brother. It was learn to wrestle or beg for my life." she told him, putting a hand on her hip. This produced a laugh from the big man she spoke to. " You got beat by a girl, now that's sad."

" Yeah, well, you've kicked all but the Chief's ass in a fight before, Kennedy. Nothing in the least bit to be embarrassed about in that respect." Zagar told them, then shook his head and glanced at Zack. " Damn, Chief, you're good." Zack shrugged.

" Tell me-something-I don't know." more laughs from his blunt comment. It had been an obvious joke.

" It's not definite without some expert examination, but with the evidence here, I'll venture a guess that the cause of death would be from these spinal injuries. Especially this break here." Zagar indicated it for Zack, whom chanced nodding, and found his head didn't spin badly enough to bother him this time.

" No big, technical name for that, Zagar?" wheeling around they found that Connell was making his way to the table with them. Smith went quickly to look after Connell, whom rubbed his head tenderly. Zagar put a hand on his hip.

" I'm sure there is one, but I prefer this one so I don't have to explain it full out to everyone here who's not as medically educated as I am." he replied, patting Connell's shoulder as he came within reachable distance of his co-worker. Connell laughed and came up next to Zack now, smiling at his leader. Zack still held the air mask to his face.

" What happened to you, Chief?" Connell asked, concerned at the sight fo the mask. Zack raised an eyebrow at this comment.

" It just so happens-the human body needs air to stay alive." Zack told him.~~

That was the chapter. Like I said before, this case has just begun. Even I don't know what's going to happen yet, but stick around and we'll all find out!! Yays!!! REVIEW PLEASE!! I have plans to get on my knees and beg for them if necessary!! Send your thoughts, ideas, just a smiley face, ANYTHING!!


	4. Case Four: Introductions

Another chapter up and ready to go. Please review! I appreciate any advice anybody can give me, and positive reinforcement is a good thing, you know? Anyways, on with the story.~~~

" Tried to choke you to death? That sucks, at least I was out the instant I hit. You sure you're alright, Chief?" Connell now voiced the concern from everyone, but Zack waved him away.

" Fine, you?"

" Bad headache. Other then that, I'm good." Connell told him and Zack nodded. Turning now, Zack glared at the black clothed people behind them. In particular he eyed the boy whom had decided he didn't want Zack to have a wind pipe.

Without help Zack moved toward them, unsteadily, but by himself none the less.

" At least one of you knows who our Jane Doe is. Tell me your names, her name, and what it is you were doing here." Zack's voice was soft and still husky, but held such an air of authority to it, that the three hesitated.

" Look, guys, Chief and all of us can do this the easy or the hard way. If we couldn't pull information out of you, whether you like it or not, believe me when I tell you we wouldn't be working here. Just take the easy way ad tell us out right or things might have to get ugly." Zagar told them with a shrug of his shoulders and a sigh.

" 'Jane Doe'? Who's that?" said the smallest of the black figures.

" A reference name for an unknown victim. Jane or John Doe depending on gender." Kennedy explained to them, but Connell stepped forwards.

" That's not important. One of you three, at least one, knows her real name. Tell us her name." Connell persisted, knowing that Zack would do the same.

The two glanced at the boy whom had had Zack by the throat before. Meaning this boy was leading them, Zack assumed. The Japanese boy was stubborn, so the other two followed his example. Zack eyed them, thoughtfully.

" You know, your friend here was attacked." Glancing at the three, Zack added. " Apparently this happens a lot to her, judging that you aren't surprised to hear this." Then there was a small pause where Zack watched them very carefully, checking their reactions to all of this. So far nothing jumped out at him. They were all pretty okay with the information they were getting. That seemed abnormal.

"They sneak up behind her, hitting her hard enough to make these bruises here," he pointed, turning over the body," then she made a run for it. Most likely, she didn't shout for help. She's fought before, why scream fro help you don't need? That was, until she realized she really couldn't handle things." Zack paused to take a deep breath from the machine giving him air.

" But by then it was too late. Catching her from behind, they were able to make this cut here," he turned the body over to show the cut along the spine," it's really something. This blow, in my opinion, was probably the cause of her death. The rest of these cuts and hacking around the spine was grudge and anger, from what I can see, it was pretty personal. Of coarse, you can see that, right?" He glanced over at them again, trying to judge what they thought of all of this.

The three listening to all of this were a bit disturbed to say the least. The older two were even more revolted by Zack's keenly interested explanation of what happened. Zack's brows jerked up a moment towards them. " That's my assessment, at least." he finished, plain as day.

" You're horrible." one said to Zack, whom remained, unfazed. He simply shrugged his shoulders to the men who glared at him with disgust.

" You would be too, working this job," Connell was the one who answered, and he grinned. " I'll admit this is one of the worst we've seen, but it certainly doesn't top our list, no doubt."

" What was the worst one, Connell?" asked Kennedy, lost. " I thought this one was the worst thus far."

" You're forgetting the Mac Given Case we did." Smith pointed out. A shiver ran through all except Zack, whom was focusing on the body again.

" Yeah, that was bad." Zagar agreed, shaking his head. " Guy gets raped, then stabbed to death. That's when it started getting bad." Face twisting, he relayed the tale to the men wearing black with more eagerness then someone should have telling about people dieing. " Killer goes and cuts open the body and takes out two ribs for souvenirs. We only knew that after he got another victim."

" Another guy, similar features to the first victim, raped, run over, killer busts open the body and grabs two of the damaged ribs. Nasty stuff there." Connell explained further to the horror of the people in black clothes. " Third victim, another guy, same features as the others-"

" Killer had a sexual fetis." Kennedy added, helpfully.

" Raped, beaten to death, rib grabbed," Connell started talking again, giving an annoyed glanced at Kennedy," it's crazy what you see at this job."

Zack made a noise, clearing his throat, interrupting his team's discussion. All four sets of eyes fell on him, then to the floor, ashamed of themselves.

"Sorry, Chief." Zack took a deep breath again before saying anything else.

" Her name, your names, your purpose." Zack said, sternly. "NOW." The boy finally spoke up.

" If we say no?" he demanded. Zack chuckled.

" You think I haven't heard that line before?" he replied, crossing one of his arms over his chest as he held the air mask to his face. " But, hey, if you like I can have Kennedy twist you arm a little," he rounded on the big man," many of our suspects find her very," he seemed to think about, while the man he watched shifted uncomfortably. Meanwhile, Kennedy grinned madly, cracking her knuckles,. " 'convincing', I'll say,"

Now he rounded on the small man," then we'll sit down in the interrogation room upstairs," now this man began to feel uneasy like his partner, while Zack finally rounded on the Japanese boy, tilting his head slightly, in a way that suggested that he was ready for whatever the boy might have up his sleeve," and relax a bit. We'll just be shooting some questions around til we manage to rip the truth out of you all."

He turned his gaze all around at the three of them. " Down to the tiniest drop." Then, he backed off, his team joining him again.

" Oh, jeez!!" Kennedy suddenly exclaimed, drawing all eyes onto herself. Her eyes fell on Zack, who waited for her to say what it was that she had in mind. " We forgot our manners, Chief. It's polite to introduce yourself before asking others for their names."

Zack fought back the urge to kick the only girl in the room for this comment. Had him all worked up for no reason other then the name game. . . He stood there, dumbfounded for a moment or so.

" Okay, team, names and specialties." Zack directed after a fairly long pause. If this is what got the three in black clothes to tell them what Zack wanted to hear, Zack was ready to try just about anything short of humiliating himself or his team.

" Solavin Smith, forensic scientist." Smith said, getting out the information with as few words as he could manage. Smith was a quiet one, the fewer the words, the simpler it made things, which made Zack glad for his down to earth manner. Zagar stared at Smith.

" Solavin? I didn't know that was your first name." he commented, Smith's face already flushed slightly with embarrassment.

" Don't sound so surprised, Zagar. Smith does have a first name just like the rest of us do." Connell scolded, and Zagar gave an incredulous look at him.

" That's not what I . . .Never mind." he stopped while he was ahead for now. Connell had a way of messing with people's heads, and Zagar wasn't about to try and out do his friend at this point. " Ahmid Zagar, medical analysis. I'm betting you were getting that idea before I told you all that though." Truth be told, Zagar was an overly friendly person, despite that his work dealt more with the dead. Zagar was rich in knowledge, and that was a great asset to Zack and the team itself.

"Tarra Kennedy, computer specialist." Kennedy spoke up, smiling and grinning. She gave a wave at the three of them too. Well, every team needs a feminine touch, right? No, despite her silly, girlish natures from time to time, Kennedy was hardly an air headed woman. Zack could never understand a word of her computer talk, but she got the job done, and pulled them through some hard corners more then a hundred times over. She was one hell of a wrestler too.

" James Connell, interrogation." Connell said, smiling and waving at them like Kennedy had done. He spoke with a crisp, light voice and the smile he wore was the most disarming one anyone ever saw. It seems almost surprising that Connell had the hardest time awhile back to keep a girlfriend for more then a few days.

Then, there had been a reason that Zagar didn't want to get mixed up with Connell earlier. He had this way of getting under a person's skin. No matter who it was, Connell could get anything he needed out of anybody. The kid knew just what spots to push to get a person talking. Once, he even got a murderer to admit his guilt when he'd almost had the chance to walk away without a problem.

Zack was most thankful for this skill that Connell had. The kid always got his man.

" Zack DeRoy, investigation coordinator, head of team." Zack only added the last part on as an after thought.

" If it wasn't obvious by the way we keep calling him Chief." Zagar added, smiling with Kennedy and Connell. Zack flashed a warning glance at Zagar, but the way his face was flushed made this only slightly possible.

His job was to bring all of these separate skills, the science, computers, people, and medical components of the investigation and make it all into one case. To make all the pieces of the truth fit together, and throw out the lies and unnecessary information. That was what he did.

However, he did much more then he realized, and only through the eyes of the people who work and live around him can tell what all of this is.

" Now it's your turn, if I recall right." Zagar prompted, thoughtfully. There was a brief silence between the tow groups, until, finally, one of them spoke up.

" I'm Marie," said the big man in black, pointing first to the smallest man," he's Daisya Barry, and next to me is Yu Kanda." he gestured to the boy whom had decide Zack didn't deserve to breath for a time period.

Yu and Zack watched each other, a clear lack of pleasure from Kanda. Zack's expression was difficult to read, but he seemed almost interested rather then mad.

" Thanks, Marie." Kennedy said. Marie had been the one she had wrestled to the ground, and though he lost she respected the fight he put up.~~~~

Okay then, now we all know who's who in this group. Don't ask me why Daiysa is back or even when this is taking place, because I didn't take that into account when I was writing this. All I can tell you is he's back and good to go, so that's that. Anyways, if you like this story, REVIEW PLEASE!! Thanks very much for reading.


	5. Case Five: Cooperation

Wow, that was weird. I tried posting this chapter the other day, but it wouldn't upload of some reason. It's fine now, I guess, but I hope it doesn't happen again. Sorry about the slow down with my chapters, school and work are keeping me more then on my toes already. Anyways, on with the next chapter.~~~

Connell leaned down to whisper into Zack's ear while Kennedy and Marie were smiling at one another.

" Looks like Marie's the one we'll most likely get information out of." he told Zack,  
whom nodded so small that it was not seen by the untrained air. The slightness of this nod, whoever, was clear to Connell, who was the only one who needed to know Zack had nodded.

" You won't get much information from any of us, me included," Marie replied to Connell's soft assumption, catching both investigators by surprise," I just don't see how knowing our names is a problem for us." he was very blunt. Didn't even try to hide this thought of his, in fact. Zagar shrugged to his boss and co-workers.

" Hell, at least he's honest." he commented, rather like he actually didn't think that Marie was as honest as he seemed.

" It's common courtesy anyways." Marie replied without a worry, even shrugging.

" For some reason you want our body?" Zack asked, rather casually for the gruesome content of his sentence. He had a hit of thoughtfulness in his voice as well, as he sounded like he was thinking about this. The three looked at Zack.

" Yu said something about getting the body and going already if I recall correctly." Zack shrugged his shoulders slightly, waving his hands in a mockingly dismissive way. He'd set the machine he'd been using to the side awhile before, as it's purpose had been served. " I could have misheard, after all, Yu did decide I didn't deserve to breath for," he turned to his team, " how long?"

" You were unconscious for five minutes, if that's what you mean." Zagar added, with a smile that suggested he was there to be helpful first and foremost. Zack nodded.

" Five minutes." he said decisively. " Any reason you want this body?" Yu made a quick move forwards and all of Zack's team tensed but Zack himself. Zack simply held himself aloft, but firmly between Kanda and the body in question.

"Get out of the way. You're in over your head. Besides, this doesn't concern you-" Yu began. However, he'd chosen the wrong words to say to Zack DeRoy.

" The hell it doesn't!!" Zack snarled, grabbing Kanda by the collar of his black shirt, clutching part of the symbolic cross on the boy's chest. All of Zack's team jolted from the intensity of his sudden fury. Zack pulled Yu right face to face with him so that the boy couldn't look anywhere else but into the smoky eyes. Not that he would've avoided them to begin with.

" Listen, you stupid brat!! The instant, the very moment that body was found in that alleyway the other night, it became my concern!! She became the top concern on my list of concerns the very minute I was assigned to this case!! So don't act all high and mighty around me!!!" Yu met those intense gray eyes with very even dark eyes, despite the outburst that would've shaken many men down to their very souls.

" Kanda. Just Kanda, unless you'd like to use that machine the rest of your life." Zack smirked at Kanda's reply. This boy was interesting.

" Noted." he replied, releasing Kanda and falling back to his team. He looked first to Kennedy then to Smith. Both nodded, moving off on their own without a word needing to be said to the two of Zack's gaze fell on Connell, who knew his boss would do this and had already pulled out his infamous small, pocket sized notebook and a pen. Finally, Zack's eyes swiveled to Zagar and the body. Jerking his head once to the body, Zagar nodded understanding and the two moved toward the body.

" You conduct an autopsy before, Zagar?" Zagar smiled ruefully at his boss' inquiry.

" Not technically speaking," Zagar admitted, shrugging once to Zack," but I've seen so many conducted I could tell you exactly where the doctors conducting one would look."

" I'm convinced, how 'bout you guys?" Zack asked all his team that had scattered about the room.

" Consider me convinced." Connell said with his light laugh.

" You ever seen this guy here in this lab?! Lords!! I was more then convinced of that, Chief, the first time I watched Zagar work down here." Kennedy said with a smile. Zagar puffed up, proudly.

" Thanks." he said, then took the time to think this over a bit more." Although, you know some people might find this hobby you have of watching autopsies a bit creepy." His smile fell on her and he placed a hand on his hip, looking a bit disturbed at the thought of having Kennedy say that. It almost sounded like she was stalking him . . .

" Yeah, lost a couple boyfriends that way," she answered with a smile and a laugh, " then again, all the other's got put off by the fact that I can kick their asses in a fight."

The team exchanged uneasy glances, and Zack gave a sigh at this.

" Well, that last part of that sentence also explains why none of them end up trying to get revenge on you." Connell laughed, and Kennedy scowled at him for a time with her co-worker only giggling for an answer. Zack cleared his throat loudly and all the jokes and playing around ended. Zagar went to go get ready.

" You three want to watch the autopsy?" Zack inquired out of his boredem while waiting for Zagar to finish getting ready. He asked this as casually as one might ask if someone else would like sugar in their coffee or if they wanted to go to a mall to shop.

Marie and Daisya glanced at one another, seeming squeamish at the idea of watching such a thing. Kanda appeared to be the cool headed one among them, Zack noticed. Zack smirked, finally finding a someone who might actually be a challenge to him.

" Well, I can't give you the body. I'm also getting the idea that none of you are leaving without the body?" he didn't even wait for any sort of answer to this question before moving right along. " Which means we've reached an impasse until my case is done or your demand for the body somehow goes away." Daisya and Marie shook their heads and Zack it to mean that this demand wouldn't go away until they had the body.

" Then the fastest way for you to do your jobs is to help us do our jobs." Connell said, in a matter-of-fact sort of way. Eyes flew to him and he sighed and shook his head. " We'll give you the body once our investigation is done."

"Chief, found something." Zagar said, pulling out a camera and taking a quick picture before Zack came over with a swift step. Handing him a magnifying glass, Zagar used his own to pull out what he'd found with some medical tweezers. Zack leaned down, interested as he looked at it, handing Zagar a tray.

" Found it inside one of the wounds on her back. There's some granular substance within some of the wounds too." Using a bit of tape he lifted said substance off of the inside of one of the cuts, making several present uneasy or at least a bit uncomfortable.

" Smith," Zack beckoned the forensic scientist over with a single wave of his hand, " at first glance, what do you think this might be?" Smith held the tray gingerly, holding it up to the light so he could get a better look at what lay within.

" Beach glass . . .?" Smith commented, and Zack stared, doing the same as Smith did." It's too smooth to come from that blacktop alleyway, and it's an odd color, light green or blue . . .it's hard to tell with this lighting. . ."

" If that's beach glass, then I'll bet that was sand on the inside of her wound." Zagar had returned to his work with the body after taking the samples. It was clear that Zack's mind was racing as he paced a few times muttering to himself a few moments

" Yeah," he said in a normal voice, glancing up and stopping his pacing," I really didn't want to watch the autopsy anyways." Zack returned to his team.

" Zagar, keep working, Smith, Kennedy, get to work processing what we have thus far in the forensics lab."

" You got it, Chief." Kennedy said, hurrying after Smith through another set of doors on the far side of the medical lab.

" How about me, Chief?" Connell asked, but he was sure he had the basic idea of what his boss wanted already.

" You're with me, kid," Zack said, wheeling and heading for the door he and his team had previously come it through," Marie, Daisya, Kanda, with me!" he hollered, hurrying out the door, with Connell nipping his heels, barely managing to keep himself from tripping.

Marie, Daisya, and Kanda stood rather dumbfounded for a few moments, lost as to what had just occured infront of their eyes.

" 'With me'?" Daisya asked aloud, looking back and forth to his fellows. Zagar noticed them.

" Go!" he hissed across the room, waving an urgent hand that had on a glove that was now red and pink compared to the once brilliant white it had been before then. The three needed no more convincing. It was be in the same room as all of these dead bodies or follow Zack DeRoy. The latter seemed more appealing, at least when they were hustling out the door to catch up with DeRoy and Connell who already had a head start on them.

Of course, Zack wasn't about to slow down for them just because they weren't keeping up. Once the three finally did catch Connell and Zack, they had to hurry just to keep pace with Zack's swift, purposeful step.

" Do try to keep up with us, you three. I'm not just talking about walking either." he added on when he heard Kanda draw a breath and open his mouth to speak protest.

" As you can see, we're a well oiled machine, so to speak. We're good at what we do, and we work well as a unit. things can start jumping fast, so we have to understand and grasp things quickly mentally and be ready to move at a moments notice-" he broke off as Zack suddenly rounded a corner in the was able to catch sight of the movement soon enough to avoid any collision with his boss, but the three unsuspecting stumbled a few paces before scurrying after the other two. " -kind of like that, in a sense. That's what he means when he says keep up. It's got nothing to do with actual speed."

" Don't take anything personally either. If Chief here disagrees it's usually for good reason, and he can sometimes sound more harsh then he actually means to. It's just how he is during cases, just muddle through it like the rest of his team does and you'll be fine." Connell laughed and smiled at them. Zack snorted at him.

" You know, I'm right here." he said.

" Yeah, I realize that, Chief." Connell said, instantly running into Zack's hand that he held up. He'd abruptly halted in his footsteps and Connell had no time to react, thus forth hitting into the well places fist.

Then, just as quickly as he had stopped, Zack had started walking all over again at the extremely fast pace.

" Good to have you around too, Chief."

" Remind me to kick you later."

" Right, Chief." Connell laughed and Zack hid his own smile.~~~~

Another chapter read and done. How do you like it thus far? I'm hoping this turns out well, so enjoy!! XD Send me a review!!! Sorry, it might take me awhile to get the next chapter up, be patient, PLEASE!!


	6. Case Six: Conferance Room

Wow, it's been a long time since I've updated. ^^; Sorry!! I'll try and update faster now that have a bit more time to write now. Enjoy! ~~~

Zack began his quick walk again, examining the sword that belonged to Kanda. Kanda watched Zack's movements with his sword very carefully. Glancing over vaguely, Zack noticed Kanda's critical expression and smiled.

" It's a good sword. Light, easy to maneuver. I assume it's harder to manage without a guard though. Not that I would know," Zack tried to seem uninterested, as he spoke about the weapon, but there was an obvious, intrigued glow to Zack, " I've never been much for sword skills." he handed it back to Kanda. Kanda looked up and down every inch of the blade before slipping it back into it's sheath. The sheath was also handed back to him back Zack.

Kanda's eyes fell on Zack again, as if only seeing him for the first time then.

" You know an awful lot about swords, Chief." Connell asked, a bit unnerved at this sudden new fact about his leader that he was just now learning about.

" I was a rather disturbed child." was Zack's simple reply. They dare not ask anything else on the topic. Didn't see that one coming . . .and definitely don't want to know more for that matter. Rounding the final corner, Zack opened the door for them to all enter in before him. Glancing over his shoulder once, he slipped in after them.

This was a rather illegal feeling situation, even for Zack's standards.( Note: Those standards are pretty high which makes this BAD.) First the case, then the body, finally these guys. Three people from unknown place and origins trying to take the body right out from under their noses. There was a lot to consider.

They could be suspects now, considering that they'd gone to find the body. It certainly looked possible considering the situation they'd found the three in. Somehow, Zack didn't quite believe it. Something about these guys made it hard for him to think that they could kill a girl in cold blood. Even Kanda didn't seem that bad, no matter how cruel he seemed.

No, Zack just couldn't believe that. Although, if he said that in court, the jury wouldn't buy it even on the best of days.

That only led back to his present problem. He had no information on any of this. That was what was annoying about the beginning of cases. Start out knowing nothing at all other then what you pick up, which usually consists of body, what's on the body, and what's around the body. That wasn't much at this point, as it was all still processing down in the lab, Smith's work zone.

Zack sighed and went back to his desk, opting to sit on the desk rather then take the time to try and make his way around all the paperwork he had to get to his desk. Connell had done similarly, and was making conversation with the three men in their black uniforms.

Uniforms? Zack considered this. Uniforms didn't usually happen unless you were apart of some sort of group or organization. Meaning this might be much bigger then he had first thought it was. He frowned, the uniform had a cross on the back and on the left side of the chest. A religious group maybe . . .? Zack found that hard to believe with Kanda's personality type. Then again, that was more of Connell's area, so that would be for him to decide rather then Zack.

Speaking of that kid that Zack just remembered he had to kick sometime soon, what was he talking to these guys about anyways?

" -and that's how I ended up at this department-" Connell was interrupted by Zack's long groan of annoyance at his employee.

" Good Lord, Connell, are you telling them that long string of events that led you to my team?" Zack asked, shaking his head at Connell. Connell frowned at his Chief, unhappy that he was making a big deal over his story telling of that time not so long ago.

" Come on, Chief, its not that bad." Connell insisted, actually pouting at Zack.

" Until you've heard it 50 times," Zack rolled his eyes at Connell. " You tell that story to anybody with ears. They don't even have to be paying attention." Connell shook his head at his Chief, and Zack sank his head so that he looked up at Connell with his brows raised. Daring him to prove him wrong. " I once saw you telling that story to a girl who was wearing headphone." Connell cringed.

" Damn! O for 1, Chief!" he said, making an x shape with his arms.

" I thought I had 100 points already?" Zack commented back, casually.

" Once you hit 100 we start from the beginning again." Connell replied, grinning.  
Zack gave a devious smile at him.

" Your just mad because I kicked your ass, 100 to 54." Zack answered with a crooked smirk on his face. Connell about died then and there.

" Ouch, damn, Chief," he replied, holding his chest dramatically," your a cold hearted bastard." Zack actually held his chin high with pride.

" Why, thank you." he answered.

" That story's my favorite story to tell. After all, it is how I ended up working for you." he said back now. " It means a lot to me, you know?" Zack blinked at him a moment. Then a small smile passed his face and he nodded once.

He could understand that, sort of. No, he could understand it, he mentally corrected himself. He'd received a team full of only younger people, no senior investigator, and Connell had been the first of the team to give his vote of confidence in Zack as a leader. That meant a lot to Zack.

" Ah, well, another time." Now attention was back on Zack, and he shifted on his desk while Connell slouched on his own desk table.

" Do you always sit on your desks?" Daisya smirked slightly at his sly tone. Zack leaned forwards, towards Daisya's smirking face with his own grim smile thrown into place.

" Only when the mood strikes me," he said, venomously back. Leaning back once more, he added," its surprising how much we all sit on our desks, now that I think about it. Must be because we're such a young team." he left it so that this bit of information could be argued no longer. " Any of you feeling like telling me who my victim is yet?" Zack was getting a bit impatient with all of this, but he almost always was at this stage of his work.

" We don't have to tell you anything," Kanda replied, crisply back," we could just call the Order to get your superior to get you to do as we say." Zack gave Kanda a scornful look. Comtemptously, he tilted his head to the side, and leaned forwards.

" I don't care about any of that." he whispered, still leaning close by Kanda's ear though everyone present could hear what he was saying just because there was nothing in this room to interrupt them at all. " You don't understand who I am." Kanda returned the contempt equally back at him, smirking, darkly.

" The same to you." he answered, leaning back and crossing one leg over his knee, as if waiting for something new to happen.

" I will pursue the truth of this case, no matter the boundaries set by this place," he threw his arm around to make a wide gesture for the building itself," and no matter what the Black Order has to say about this." Zack remembered hearing about this Black Order when he had joined the forces here. The Black Order were not to messed with had been the basic gist of the whole talk. They were a band of people who had power above the average man, and got some sort of special treatment that Zack had been more then just a little disgusted with.

Seeing people from the Order for the first time in his life now, Zack didn't plan to give them any of the benefits of cooperation that any other investigator wouldn't have thought about going against.

" Don't think you can get any of the rest of the rest of us to turn on Chief either." Connell added, knowing that this was a thought that most would think of. He didn't want them to even bother trying to turn any of them against each other. " None of us will go against him, not me, not Kennedy, not any of us. We're the same as him." He folded his arms over his chest in a very confident way that showed the resolve he had on this.

" We are the hunters of the truth, everyone of us five. We'll follow Chief," he turned to look over at Zack and a smile passed his face," even to the point of doing the illegal. For us, this is more then just a job. " Then his eyes turned back to the Black Order members. " This is our passion. So don't bother trying to break us apart." This meant something great to Zack, as the pride and comfort welled up in his chest.

He may not have anything to give up in all of this, but his team had family, friends, lovers, important people to them. Knowing that they would give this up to follow him was something he would never allow, obviously, but was very empowering to hear from them.

No, if it ever got to the point where he was on the run, Zack would go alone. Connell had a girlfriend he absolutely adored to the point it almost seemed unhealthy. Not to mention Smith was engaged to be married and Kennedy had a very close relationship with her brothers and parents still.

Zack simply wouldn't allow them to give up their lives for this. Not for his life, that had already reached the edge of ruin multiple times before.

" This was a murder." Zack said, firmly. He was sure it had been one. " And this is my job, not the Black Order's. Why is the Black Order even interested in the body of an unknown murder victim in a town like this one, anyways?" As soon as the question hit the air, the reason for it came into Zack's head. Thinking of the victim, now he found something very very interesting about this victim. She was from the Black Order.

" I get it." Connell said, taking over for Zack. This was his specialty more then anything else, and Connell was smarter then he seemed. " Then our little lady downstairs is from the Order, isn't that right? That would be why you want the body, because she's with you, and all of your bosses want to keep this hush hush from the public. Gotta cover their own tracks, after all. Can't have anybody knowing that even the great people in the Black Order can be killed by a common murderer, if that is what happened, I mean." Connell amended his statement, a hand on his chin while the other was supporting the elbow of the first.

This was a curious thing indeed, Zack had to admit that was true. A random unknown victum turns out to be a member of the Black Order. They found her dead in a normal alleyway too, no less. The situation was definately a new one for Zack, but he was ready for a new challenge any day.

Wait . . .that seemed wrong. He frowned thinking about this. Regular victim found in a regular alleyway a member of the Black Order? Now, Zack may not know much about the Black Order, he would admit, but certainly they didn't just let important team players out and around the normal world like that. Yeah, he thought, that was what was out of place.

" What was she doing all the way out here?" Zack said, suddenly, eyes flying over to him now. Glancing up at the three wearing black he said. " The Black Order are a very secretive bunch of people. You're pretty shady to the rest of the world, you realize?" he asked but didn't wait for them to answer his question before going on. " You're separate from the rest of the world. So, what was your little lady doing on our street by herself?"

There was no answer from any of them to this question. Zack got briskly to his feet, grabbing his coat and keys along the way, and Connell followed after him, stretching across his desk to get his own coat and sliding onto his feet.

That was what was wrong with the situation now. Why was an abnormal lady doing on an ordinary street like that?

" We missed something, Connell," he said over his shoulder, swinging open the door to the conference room," lets go find out what." Turning, he glared at the Black Order people. " Get your asses up and lets go. Keep up, you slow asses."

Kanda crossed his arm and Zack stomped his foot in frustration, stomping over to Kanda and yanking the boy out of the chair he sat in.

" I'm only asking for your help. It's not like I'm asking you to marry me." He'd done this last part none too gently and Kanda was absolutely disgusted by the way Zack handled things here. " Just work with me, will ya?" Zack asked now, holding out his hand to give Kanda a hand shake.

" Hmph." Kanda grunted, taking Zack's hand despite himself. Something about this man interested Kanda, and he wanted to see just what this man was made of. "You're more then troublesome, you're annoying." Zack smiled, excited for what was to come next.

" Don't sugar coat it. I'm a pain in your ass and you know it as much as I do." he said with none too polite of words, giving Kanda's hand a good squeeze.

" Yeah."

" Then why didn't you just say so in the first place?" Zack asked, and moved for the door again, impatient as ever. All Connell could think was that this was just like his boss.

A smile passed his face as he moved after Zack towards the door.~~~

What secrets have been overlooked in the alleyway? What will happen now? Next chapter, that I hope I'll be putting up sometime very soon. Thanks for reading, now REVIEW ME!! XD


	7. Case Seven: The Girl

Yeah, it's been a long time. ^^; Opps! Sorry it took so long!! I'll try to do better!! I blame the school system and the inability of my teachers to realize that my life doesn't revolve around the subject they teach!! Anybody else have that problem, because I swear that the teachers at my school all think that. Anyways, back to the story!! Enjoy.~~~~~

Zack parked the car and climbed out of the driver's seat. Connell had been working at the Black Order members with every question known to man that could be of any relevance in the case. Daisya and Marie answered most of the time. Kanda was silent as could be, not saying a word, and keeping his eyes out the window as if he were a kid on a school bus. They all piled out of the car as well.

" We have to walk from here, I've got the place blocked off for the time being." Zack informed them, getting into the sidewalk and moving quickly forwards.

" Can only keep the spot blocked off for a few hours cause it's a public alleyway. We never get a lot of time at the crime scenes if its not inside a building, and the scene usually gives us the most evidence as to who did the crime. This case is unfortunate in that it's one where the true place where the murder took place is unknown. Still, we'll figure it out." Connell was totally sure of this, confident in the team he was apart of. He'd seen all of them do amazing things together, even pull off miracles in some cases.

" It makes sense." Marie said, nodding his head. Shrugging his shoulders, Connell came up and patted him on the one of his big arms.

" That's the idea, Marie." he replied as they found a crowd had gathered together in front of the yellow caution tape.

" The yellow tape keeps people out?" Daisya asked, disbelievingly. Connell could only laugh at that one.

" No," he gasped for breath from his heavying sides," but the cop guys just inside or outside the tape prevent them from entering the scene." he laughed some more and went on to say. " Most won't think twice about staying out when faced with a gun pointing at them."

" I'd guess not." Daisya agreed to this point.

" Yeah, being shot kind of hurts." Zack said, sardonically.

" Way to throw some cold water on that one, Chief." Connell added, giving a theatrical shiver at his boss. Zack smirked a bit at this.

" Its what I do." Zack answered, grabbing the yellow tape and flipping his badge, Connell showing his as well. Both slipped under the tape, when all of the sudden, a little voice called out.

"Zack!!" Turning back over to the crowd side of the tape, Zack looked around. However, he was caught by surprise when a little body slammed into him, clinging to his waist. He glanced down with a jolt.

" Cara?" Zack exclaimed, shocked to see the little girl at a time like this. She looked up at him, grinning and giggling at him. Kneeling down, Zack grabbed the little girl and lifted her up into his arms. " What are you doing here? Your Uncle Luke is supposed to be looking after you, isn't he?" Cara nodded her head to him, arching her neck to look around.  
Finally she pointed.

" Cara!!" came a call, and a man in a full suit and tie came out, carrying a brief case in his free hand. He had a young face, despite his business apparel. Halting when he saw the girl, he looked into Zack's stormy eyes with a pair of bright, light blue eyes. With a smooth hand, he pushed the loose pieces of his neatly parted light brown hair back into place, coming up to Zack. " Now I see why she ran off like that. This is your crime scene, Zack?" he asked. Zack looked rather befuddled at the man's attire. Cara waved at Luke who waved back to her.

" Yeah. What are you doing here, Luke?" Zack inquired back, curiously, Cara clinging to Zack's neck slightly.

" Dropping Cara off at school, then I'm heading to work." Luke explained to him, pointing up the street. " Cara's school is a few blocks from here, so we usually walk to her school. Then I'll walk to work, pick her up and head for home. Looks like you might get to skip school today with all this blocked off, Cara." he added to the little girl.

" Yes!!" she squealed throwing her arms in the air. This drew laughs from Zack and Luke.

" Well, I'm glad your so excited not to get an education that we so generously pay for." Luke said, chuckling still. Zack waved him away.

" We all hated school as kids, that just means she's a normal, good kid." Zack answered to the man. Cara's green eyes glistened with an idea that came to her mind. Eagerness entered her voice when she spoke next.

" Does that mean I can come to work with you?" she asked, Luke, getting both men laughing again. Connell appeared just then too.

" Oh, well, hello, Cara." Connell greeted her, shaking Cara's hand as she leaned over Zack's shoulder to see him.

" Hiya, Uncle James." she said shaking his hand in a very childish way.

" Yay! You remember me!!" Connell exclaimed, joyfully, jumping once, getting Cara giggling. To Zack he said. " Chief, our guests?" he directed Zack's attention to the three in black once again. They had been watching quietly, silently taking in the new set of people.

Cara turned and looked at them too. Smiling she flung herself to lean towards them, causing Zack to fumble to keep holding her up.

" Hi!!" she exclaimed, happily. " I'm Cara!! Nice to meet you!!" she held out her arms in a silly little girl way. She looked, thoughtfully at the three of them, then leaned to whisper into Zack's ear. "They seem nice. I like them." Zack stared at her, curiosity clear on his face now.

" You think so?" he asked. " Well, come on, you go ahead with Luke to work, Cara." With that he handed the little girl to Luke who began talking to her right away.

" Who is that little one?" Marie asked Zack.

" Cara is my daughter." Zack spoke up without hesitating or thinking about how exactly he was saying this.

Realizing that he was being stared at, he amended his statement. "Er, wait, my adopted daughter. My friend there, Luke, he and I adopted her together." then he realized that he'd just made it sound like he and his friend were dating. " We're not dating. Just friends, that's all." he insisted, but felt he'd failed miserably to keep things together in a way that sounded proper. This got Connell laughing like crazy, as Zack sighed in his failure. " I give up." Connell patted his shoulder.

" We all have those moments, Chief." Conell insisted, though this did little to comfort Zack's embarrassment.

" Zack! Can we watch you work for a bit?!" Cara's voice shouted out to him. She looked at him innocently. Zack turned to Luke, shrugged. Sighing, Zack shrugged, but he smiled at to the little girl.

" As long as you promise to stay with Luke and behind the tape. Got it?" he said, pointing to her. Cara brought her arm up in a salute.

" Yes, sir!" she answered. Zack grinned and ruffled her parted deep brown hair.

" Alright, then." he answered, and stood up straight again. She smiled and clung onto Luke, whom picked her up.

" Thanks, Uncle Luke." to her gratitude, Luke only laughed to her, gently.

" We spoil you, little one." he said, but kept on smiling and held her even so. Zack turned back to the tape, holding it up for his followers.

" Shall we?" he said and Connell ducked under first, leading the way for them all.

" These four are with me, allow them past." he indicated to the officer who made a move towards them. " I know it's against regulation, but this is a special case. Send any complaints to my office, DeRoy, got it?" he didn't give the officer in question time to answer and he moved onto the scene. The three in black looked about, clearly having never been on a crime scene before.

" This is where we found your girl." Zack indicated, heading over to the spot and jerking his head at the spot. " As you can see, there's no signs that she's been there. By that, I mean there's no bodily fluids, like, you know, that all so important blood. With her injuries, she would have bled pretty well." The Black Order members didn't seem to appreciate Zack's terminology.

Zack, being the all so cruel and unusual person that he is, didn't take much notice to their lack of contentness. That of course, was simply because he didn't care what these people thought of him.

" There wasn't any blood on her body either then we arrived on the scene, now that I think about it." Connell spoke up, thoughtfully now.

" Exactly, Connell." Zack emphasized this. " Why?" he prompted his employee, one of his many tests that he liked to tease his employees with. Connell got this most of all because Zack had great belief in his intelligence level. That and, well, he enjoyed teasing Connell the most of all.

" This isn't where she was killed." Connell answered. Zack leaned forwards, raising his eyebrows at Connell. Connell took this to mean that Zack wanted him to say more. " And that her body was wiped clean by the killer so nobody would see the blood." then Connell began to understand what Zack was getting at. " They left her in the alley? That's not much of a place to hide a dead body. Meaning the murderer was planning on dumping it somewhere around here,  
but was forced to leave it here." Zack nodded.

" It also suggests not only a need to hide the body, but a degree of care for the person murdered." Zack added on, kneeling down to look at the spot again, brows arched and face turned downwards with extreme thought clear on Zack's face. " Tell me, in the Order, are you allowed to leave and visit family, friends, or lovers outside of the Order?" There was hardly a moments pause to this question.

" No." they all answered at one time without an instant of hesitation. Zack nodded thoughtfully at this fact.

" Not even the military is that harsh to its members. Doesn't sound like it's worth it to me," Zack shook his head sadly, thinking about families and such that were forced to part ways for this Black Order. He'd heard tell of times when people were recruited for the Black Order, and on these terms of service that Zack was hearing, it didn't sound like it was a good thing to be recruited for," but then, I'm in no position to judge you." Mainly he said this to ease the minds of these three as they all seemed to take offense to it.

" That means she has a reason for being out here by herself then." Connell said, turning back to his notepad and taking a few jots of information down.

" How do you figure that?" Marie asked now, curious really. Connell grinned at his curiousness. He always loved it when people asked questions that he could answer so he could actually sound smart for once in his life. It really annoyed him when Zack always found that one question that could stump him.

" Well, this coming from me, because I have this amazing girlfriend that I'll tell you about when Chief here isn't breathing down my neck," he said, quickly, noticing the way Zack glared up at him, daring him to be totally off topic about this situation," I'd have to say that I'd run from this Black Order to visit my girl as much as I could." Kanda snorted.

" How stupid." he said, and Connell grinned at this.

" That's how love is." Zack replied to him, without skipping a beat at all.

" That probably explains the trouble we all seem to have keeping girlfriends or boyfriends in Kennedy's case." Connell spoke up thoughtfully at this, then shrugged it away. Zack showed no interest in what Connell was saying anymore, instead looking around the ground.

" It might mean there's a boyfriend out here missing his girlfriend." Zack said, then added on a darker note. " Or maybe a boyfriend who killed his crazy bitch girlfriend. Maybe an old friend out here with a grudge, we really can't say until we look at all the evidence and bring somebody in." Frustration appeared on his face again, and he frowned, straightening up again.

Retreating to the case he'd brought, he popped it open, while the other four waited for him to get what it is he was getting.

" Since you Black Order kids seem so excited to be here," Zack grinned wolfishly, tossing cameras to each of them," let them go explore like the tourist they are." The three fiddled with the cameras for a bit, confused as to what they were exactly supposed to being doing with them. Zack held out his arms in a gesture.

" Take a picture." he held back his laughing, then turned to observe some more.

" Crime scene photos. I'll help you out." Connell said, coming over to explain it to them all as briefly as he could while still getting all the important details needed for the job in. He found this was a rather ineffective task, and so, instead, opted to simply tell them what to photograph instead.

" How is this helpful?" Daisya muttered, clearly mad at his lack of understanding. Taking photographs seemed a rather pointless activity to him.

" You'd be surprised what sort of small details determine if a man walks or does hard time." Connell told him, smiling and shrugging his shoulders.

" Or the difference between standing behind bars or getting a needle in your arm." Zack added, sardonically, with an almost evil look on his face.

" The Death Sentence." Connell told them, seeing as they didn't seem to understand what it was that Zack was suggesting by his latter statement. He leaned over to Zack a moment to whisper into his ear. " They seriously have no clue about police work." he giggled and even Zack had to suppress his laughs to a smile.

"Absolutely none." Zack prompted in reply, getting them both chuckling under their breath.~~~~~~~

Another chapter, and two more lovely OCs of my creation. Both of which you'll be seeing more of in later chapters. XD I'm so excited!! I love these characters!! Anyways, its almost Christmas, so I'll say Merry Christmas early!! Happy Early Christmas Everyone!! Enjoy it!! Enjoy the story? Tell me about it!! Review, Review, Review!! Hopefully the next chapter will be up faster then this one!! ^^;


	8. Case Eight: Akuma

Wow~! I've been gone a long time on this one!! I'M SO SORRY!! I APOLOGIZE TO EVERYONE SO MUUUCCCHHHH!!! . Actually, I've been on a writing spree for awhile, so I'll try and update the chapters I've typed up as soon as possible. Anyways, here's the next chapter!~~~~

Just then, a movement out of the corner of his eye caught Zack's attention. He wheeled around, looking down the alleyway.

" Hey! This is a restricted area!!" Zack hollered, heading for the person. All eyes turned to him as he shouted.

Marie's eyes grew wide and Kanda noticed it, springing to action. Looking around, the Black Order members were caught unaware, walking right into a trap. Dropping their cameras, they got to work. Kanda grabbed the back of Zack's and Connell's coats.

" Move it!" he snarled, yanking both backwards, just as the person grew into a monstrous, horrific creature right before their eyes. Zack and Connell fumbled back onto the pavement, their eyes huge once they'd caught sight of the creature.

" What is that?!" Connell shouted, as people around them all had begun to panic and scream in terror. Zack had no answer for his employee. More creatures similar to the first had begun to spring up everywhere around them. Zack noticed with disgust that the creatures came out of actual people, random from the crowds it seemed.

His eyes shot around, finally catching sight of oft he frightened forms of Luke and Cara. Luke clung to Cara, arms wrapped around the small girl protectively, though he looked scared out of his mind.

Another creature grew from someone near them, and Zack felt the panic whip through him in a tidal wave.

The gun in his hand appeared in his hand with one fluid, practiced motion. Aiming, he squeezed the trigger.

One, two . . .

three, four, five . . . .

six. . . .

The head swung Zack's direction, and he felt his blood run cold with fear as chilly as an Arctic winter. The creature turned his way, forgetting about any former targets.

Scared so much that he was shaking, Zack ran for cover in the alleyway, ducking around now empty narrow street. The monstrous being was still heading for him, and so he squeezed the trigger of his gun again and again. All it seemed to do was make the creature even more angry.

It wasn't working.

Zack's throat constricted and he swallowed to slick it once that realization hit him. It hit him hard too. The panic gripped at his chest with a death like hand, making his heart pump faster, forcing his breath to be shallow and unusable for his body. Then his eyes fell on Luke and Cara, curled in a mass of fear by a building not far off from where Zack was.

That sight alone was the only thing keeping his feet planted and his hand steady as he shot his gun again and again without any effect on the beast.

" Work, DAMMIT!!!" Zack cussed in a yelling command at his gun. It continued to fail him and his heart kept sinking further and further into the pit of his stomach. He willed his gun to kill the monster with all of his heart and might as the monster came closer and closer still. Then he saw another headed for Luke and Cara.

" NO!! DAMMIT ALL!!!" he screamed out, aiming for this one now rather then the one closest to himself.

Time had run out for him, though. The first one had reached him and swung at him, knocking him hard into the pavement of the narrow street. Zack's head hit the ground with an eerie crack and his head spun dazzlingly as the beast picked him up.

Still, he kept on aiming for the one that was reaching for Luke and Cara. To no avail, however,this one would not be distracted as the first one had.

During all of this, Zack hadn't realized that he'd just used his last bullet of this round. Not realizing this, he pulled the trigger again.

" DAMMIT ALL!! KILL IT!!!" he demanded and the bullet went flying from the gun once more, with a faint hint of a white glow.

This time, the creature let out a howl of pain from the hit, finally turning to look at Zack with anger flaring in it's crazy eyes. Others might not have noticed this change, but Zack took quick note of it, then shot again, aiming for it's head. Again, the monster let out screamed of agonizing pain, and it crumbled and was still after this shot.

Sure that one was dead, Zack turned his attention to the one that had a hold of him.

He was just taking notice to the fact that it was working to break his rib cage, and he stifled a yell of hurt into a sharp, pain ridden breath as he aimed and fired at this one at point blank range. Obviously, he didn't miss. This one let out a similar, gruesome shriek of utter hurt, then crumbled like this brother before him.

Zack hadn't put much thought into how tall this creature was, or how he was going to make a safe landing from this height. So he fell, to the pavement, hitting his head for the second time now.

" Ow . . ." the words he said sounded distant to even himself as he lay on the ground.

Zack remained there until he felt his spinning brain's movement finally come to a halt. Sitting up, however, brought the spinning sensation back all over again.

Still, Zack stumbled to his feet, gazing around. Luke and Cara were headed towards him, Luke carrying Cara in his arms. Swaying, Zack staggered to meet them half way. Luke stooped to help support him for a moment.

"Easy, Zack, your bleeding on the back of your head." Luke hushed to Zack with a soft tone of voice. Zack was grateful to him for this, his head would've hurt if this friend had spoken in a normal tone of voice.

" Get behind me, I'll protect you." he insisted, ignoring his throbbing brain as much as he could manage at the time. Luke's concern had to wait until after this, and Luke was as aware of this as much as Zack was. He nodded and did as he was told, still hushing to Cara. Despite the situation, the little one seemed very calm, keeping her eyes shut and doing as she was told by her guardians.

Zack led the way for them, keeping them pressed against a wall so all he had to guard was the front of them.

" CHIEF!!" Connell shouted, finding his boss and family huddled together in a tight noted he hid several large bruises and a cut on his lip. " Bit my lip." Connell said with a grin at Zack. He used the back of his hand to wipe the blood away. " My gun's not working on these things, I dunno what to do." Zack gave him a lost look.

" Mine didn't at first either, but-" his sentence was cut off mid-way.

At the sound of the screech, Zack threw Connell behind himself with Luke and Cara, as a beast came at them all once more. Raising his arm, Zack squeezed the trigger. The beast wailed and died as the others had before him.

Connell stared at his boss.

Zack shrugged. " Mine works now."

" Dude, I've gotta get me one of those." Connell exclaimed, scowling at his own gun that lay unless in his hand.

Searching around, Zack noted a door that was wide open. With a wide gesture, he signaled for all of them to follow him. At the door, Zack spun around, checking to see if anything inside was dangerous. Finding only a few people simply quivering in fear of what was going on, Zack ushered the three inside.

" Stay in here with them until everything settles down, alright?"Connell wasn't surprised by the earnestness in his boss' voice. " Connell, I'm counting on you to keep those two safe." he insisted to him, gripping Connell's shoulder with a strong, but shaky hand.

Connell gave a single firm nod of his head to his boss.

" I'll do my best." he replied with this firm nod. Squeezing Connell's shoulder a moment, Zack got to his feet and slipped out the door he had come through, quickly and quietly trying to find the best place to position himself to fight these things.

Finding a place in a side street between a set of boxes and trash cans, Zack took to guarding this building, and killing anything else that got in his way.

Outside Kanda, Marie, and Daisya had taken care of many of the remaining monsters.

During the lax in fighting, Kanda caught sight of what Zack was doing, and how his gun could kill the akuma. That's what these monstrosities were, after all. Akuma.

During his time in hiding, Zack only just realized he should have been out of bullets along time ago. Staring at his long time companion, the gun seemed fine as could be. The sound of movement close to him made Zack bolt and pull the trigger out of reflex.

This time it was Kanda rather then an akuma, and the horror of this hit Zack the instant his hand pulled the trigger. Still a bullet that shouldn't have existed left the gun. But it passed right through Kanda, harmlessly, as if it was air and nothing else. Zack didn't have much time to react to this, Kanda grabbed Zack by the collar of his long coat, making Zack stumble to keep on his feet.

" What are you playing at?!" Kanda snarled at Zack. His cloudy eyes only looked lost back up at the boy's flaring black eyes. The relief of having not killed Kanda on instinct and reaction had overwhelmed him for the time being as he almost smiled up at Kanda. Good thing he didn't, or he might have earned himself a death sentence from the Japanese kid.

" Why didn't you tell us you were an exorcist from the start?!" Now the lostness only on Zack's face only increased.

" What are you talking about?" Zack answered, but a cry from behind him made his blood feel cold as ice as he recognized the voice. Grabbing Kanda's hands he thrust both of them aside before wheeling on his toes and taking off at a sprint.

" LUKE!! CARA!! CONNELL!!!" Zack shouted, not needing to go far to re-enter the building he'd left the three people that were important to him.

All he really saw was Connell, stabbing one of the monsters with a pure white and blue spear. The spear was long, with a huge diamond in the shape of a multi-pointed star at the tip as the spear head.

Meanwhile, in the center of the spear head, there was what looked to be a red ruby the size of a kid's fist gleaming and glistening brightly.

Connell himself seemed anything but glowing at this point. His eyes were wild with a sense of panic rooted deep enough to make him appear an animal living on instinct alone. All of his muscles seemed tense, and those that weren't seemed ready to strike at anything that came into his line of sight.

A long gash across Connell's bleeding side made Zack's heart sink. Carefully, slowly, Zack stepped closer to his employee as he stood tense as crazy.

Reaching out, Zack set his hand on Connell's shoulder.

" Easy, kid. Your fine, just take a breath." Zack soothed to him, easing Connell to the ground to sit." It's over, kid. It's over." After blinking away the wild feeling, Connell glanced up with those blue eyes. Slowly he nodded, shaking greatly, glad for the chance to sit down.

" The-the people in the corner-they- and this-" Connell began to babble to Zack in a cluster of words Zack couldn't hope to understand right now. His employee gestured to the spear that still lay in his hand. "-outta no where-Chief-"

" Easy, kid. Your fine, just breath a minute." Zack repeated to him, having dealt with Connell in this panicking state a few times before. Connell would keep babbling, Zack knew because that was simply how Connell relieved his stress and nerves. Still, he needed to appeal to Connell's easier side to help him relax.

" Protected them though-" Connell went on to speak, this statement getting Zack's full attention. Meeting Zack's stormy gray eyes, he pointed for Zack and his boss turned to see what it was that Connell was telling him.

There were Luke and Cara, well, untouched, unharmed though a fair bit scared out of their minds for the time being. Breathing a sigh of relief, Zack patted Connell on the back, clasping the man's shoulder.

" Good man, James." Connell jerked at the sound of his first name being said by his Chief. Lowly, Zack leaned down to whisper into his ear ever so gently. " Thank you." Those were the most grateful words Connell had ever heard from his boss. Helping Connell to his feet, the investigators, Luke, and Cara gathered together.

The relief of the time was shared and so was the thanks. That was how these people were by nature. Glad for what they had, and more then willing to share with the others they knew so well.

" Chief!!" Connell gasped, pointing to his boss who looked back, a question on his face. " Your head! There's blood!" he exclaimed.

Both Connell and Luke closed in on Zack. Zack reached up and sure enough, the back of his head stung painfully when he touched it, and blood was on his hands when he brought his hand forwards again.

"Oh," he said, softly, waving away Connell and Luke while frowning," it's alright. I'm fine, it's just a scratch." That's when Cara reached out her hand and touched the wound with as gentle a hand as ever.

Zack felt a cool, soothing sensation whip through him from where her hand touched his head, and his eyelids fell without his consent. His consciousness faded, or so it felt to him.

Then, all at once, the world came back in a flash.

Nothing had changed. It was like no time had passed when he opened his eyes again.

Blinking a moment, he shoved the thought away, as no one acted as if anything was out of the ordinary.

Cara let go, and that was the end of that.

Touching the spot again, Zack jolted as he realized there was no pain this time. When he looked at his hand this time, it came back clean, not even a hint of red or brown from blood on his hand and Connell stared right along with Zack at his hand as if it had suddenly become something alien and unfamiliar. Zack had to say something now.

" See?" he showed his hand with a grin, waving at them. " The bleeding's already stopped. Just a little scratch, nothing to worry about."

They talked, and as they did, Connell and Zack clung to their weapons with more vigor then ever before.

After a bit of time, Zack finally noticed how his hand clenched to his gun, with his finger still lightly placed by the trigger for quick use. Slowly, he set the gun away.

Connell stroked the spear in the mean time as well, unconsciously,but appearing abnormally comfortable with the weapon then the average person who'd never touched one before in their lives would. Zack simply could contain his curiosity at this.

" Someone is pretty cozy with that spear, Connell." he mentioned in a mild tone, trying to make it seem like he wasn't as interested as he actually was. Turning to the side he looked at Connell from the corner of his eyes. A flush passed Connell's face as he grinned at Zack and scratched the back of his head bashfully.

" I should be. My rich ass parents got me lessons with a professional who taught me for a few years." he replied, still smiling. Zack's jaw dropped.

" You're not serious, right?" he asked.

" No, I'm serious."

" . . ." a reply to this was beyond Zack.~~~~

There was some actual excitement in this chapter! Crazy, right? Send me your feedback, I love to read it!! I'd kind of like to know how well I explained the fighting. Was it difficult to follow? Any advice would be absolutely amazing for me. I'll try hard to update sooner!! T_______________T Really, I'll try!!


	9. Case Nine: To the Order

It's been forever (again) since I last updated. So instead of boring you with my usual talking before the next chapter, I'm just going to jump off a cliff and let you read while I'm doing that. *runs and jumps off a cliff!!* ENJOOOOYYYYyyyyyyy . . .!!!~~~

Even after all that had happened, however, Zack insisted on continuing with the case they were working. However, it took him some time to reassure Zagar, Kennedy, and Smith that they were all perfectly okay. When Zack mentioned about being careful from this point on, the majority of his team started to laugh at him.

" You? Careful?" Kennedy giggled and shook her head. " That will be a first for you, Chief." All but Zack and the Black Order members laughed at this.

" Come on, Chief, you have to admit it's funny." Connell insisted to him. " Of all of us, you're the most reckless." That was very true. So much so, Zack couldn't even begin to deny the comment. It was a fact, really.

" That's what we like about you, Chief." Smith put in, seeing Zack's displeased face.

" Things always turn out for the best, especially when you throw yourself into work." Zagar agree with a grin.

" That's all the time, Zagar," Connell replied turning to the Black Order members, who'd been quietly listening to the conversation, saying," you should have seen what happened a year or so ago. We had this target and Chief was waiting for him in a crowded bar, see?" he spoke vigorously, throwing his arms here and there to gesture out the story.

He made a gun with his thumb and pointer finger then as he continued. " Guy comes in, starts waving his gun around. Chief's undercover and by himself, mind you. Gets nearly everybody out of there, more then 50 people were smuggled out right under our target's drunken nose." He then holds up his index finger to show the number one. "Only one person gets shot, and do you know who that was?"

Nearly laughing, Connell points at Zack, who's face has turned some what red at this point in the story. The employee only keeps grinning along with his co-workers at Zack's embarrassed expression. " This guy right here. He tackled our target and wrestles him until the guy shoots him in the side. Then he twists the gun out of the target's hand and keeps the target subdued until back up shows up and saves his ass." Zack didn't meet the eyes of anyone at this point, too embarrassed by the story to look up at first. Then his gray eyes come up with a frowning face.

" Its my job to bring justice for our dead and their loved ones." he stated in reply to them all, still flushed as he spoke these next words with great intensity. " Why shouldn't I want to keep the life alive before there's unnecessary blood shed?" this sobered the light mood that Connell's heroic story had brought to the room and Zack turned away for a moment to pick up the file from his desk.

" Meanwhile, we've got a case to work now, kids." Zack continued and everyone began to get back on track of what they needed to do now once again. A smile played across his face as he moved around his desk and flicked on his radio. The team members smiled and laughed as Zack turned back to them, smiling too. " What've you all got for me, my little Indians?"

" I've confirmed the cause of death," Zagar was the first Indian to speak up," wrong about one thing though." He held out a file for his boss to take from him. " The actual thing to kill her was her neck being broken. So, in a way, we were right and wrong with our earlier theory." Zack nodded, but Zagar had more to say by the frown on his face.

" What else, Zagar?" Zack's voice was unreadable, making it hard to tell his mood.

" The order of the injuries," he said slowly, still frowning greatly," her neck being broken was the last one." The Black Order members looked lost between the investigators who all had gotten the picture by this simple statement. They glanced at each other and then to the people around them, until Connell noticed their confused faces.

" It means she felt all of those other injuries before she died." Connell murmured, putting a hand on his hip as he smiled at his leader. " Also meaning the person responsible earned themselves a one way ticket to hell on earth from Chief, right?" Zack's gaze flicked to Connell, darkly.

" You know me too well." he replied, and Connell nodded his understanding of that.

" On another note," Zagar added, lightening the feeling in the room instantly, " interesting fact about her?" he prompted the question, but Kennedy was the one who gave Zack the page with the information.

" HIV positive," Kennedy finished for her co-worker," Smith found it after Zagar gave us some of her blood work. Girlie here had herself a squeeze."

" Or two." Smith added, softly.

" Apparently he felt like SHARING the love." Zagar grinned, laughing at his own dirty joke. The rest sighed, finding this the most inappropriate time for this kind of joke. Zack turned abruptly to the Black Order members.

" She sleep around a lot at work?" he asked, very blunt and to the point.

" How would we know?!" Kanda snapped at him, his face turning red. Zack grew a clever grin, seeing how Kanda and his two friends seemed uneasy with the topic of sex, or so it appeared.

" Looky here, Indians," he said, grinning madly at his employees over his shoulder, " we don't get many prudes around here, wouldn't you say?" Zagar and Connell hooted while Smith and Zack chuckled. Kennedy gave a new meaning to the words " laughing my ass off" at that time, only getting everybody else laughing harder along with her. That laugh of her's was a bit contagious when she got giggling too much.

" Kid," Connell began, throwing his arm over Kanda's shoulder," you gotta understand. We really don't get many prudes around here. Sex is a common thing to bring up in this place. So forgive our laughing. We sometimes forget sex is supposed to be an awkward subject to most people." Kanda gave him the worst glare Connell would ever recall for the rest of his life then, jerking his shoulder out from Connell's reach. There were a few mild chuckles from Smith and Zack at that reaction, but nothing more.

" Was there any rumors of her sleeping around at work?" Smith asked again, knowing that it would be bad to stay off topic much longer. " Anybody who mentioned they caught her half naked with a boss or something like that?" he prompted for an answer to this question, and nobody else was saying it was a joke.

" Not that we know of." was the only reply they offered. After a few long moments of silence after that, Zack threw his arms up in the air, making a loud noise of frustration. Right then and there, he started pacing in front of them.

" Useless Black Order bastards! Can't tell us anything, it's like having dead weight around!!" Zack hissed and muttered to himself, but loud enough that everyone heard him. For the moment he seemed to have taken to ignoring them all and focusing on only thinking over what to do next.

" You wanna start something-?!" exclaimed Daisya, getting angry. Connell threw his arm out in front of Daisya to prevent him from going any further. Zack's team knew that Zack pacing meant he was going to be thinking out loud. He was bond to start cursing and insulting somebody. It was just the way he was, after all.

" Sh!" Connell hushed to Daisya, who just didn't get it. There was no hope that he would understand it or that he ever would understand the ties these very different people had to one another. Zack wheeled on his heels again and walked a few steps, then wheeled once more, constantly in motion while he thought.

" No crime scene, no home address, no witnesses, no friends or loved ones we know of, nothing, nothing, Nothing dammit!!" his thoughts streamed out in a list rather then a in sentence format. " The only sign of a crime is the body itself. Having 'God Matter' carved into her back means this is a hate crime. Hate crimes develop over time and involve, in most cases, someone who was close to the victim. . ." Now his pattern ended as he turned and pointed at the Black Order members.

" Take me to where she lives and works." he commanded, abruptly.~~

Well, to say this was awkward situation for the exorcists didn't feel like a strong enough expression of this demand to enter the Black Order head quarters. Still, they somehow found a way to do so, by telling Komui that both Connell and Zack were exorcists. Getting Connell and Zack to understand what this meant was a whole different story, however.

They had only begun to learn how stubborn Zack DeRoy could be. Only two of them were allowed to come to the order, which was okay by Zack, because he only planned on bringing Connell with him from the start when it came to the work side of things. Zack had one thing to protest in all of this, however.

" We're not bringing the girl or your friend along!!" Kanda snapped at Zack.

" Bull shit, I'm not leaving them here." Zack snapped right back at him. Folding his arms, Zack's face set into a determined frown at Kanda and his exorcist friends.

They were all ready to go, they as in the exorcists, Connell, Zack, Luke, and Cara. Zack simply wouldn't leave them behind, but the exorcists couldn't take them unannounced either. It was a rather strange situation to say the least and it was delaying them.

Luke and Cara were doing as Zack had told them earlier. Keeping quiet. Zack had been sure he could win out the argument, all he told them to do was wait it out quietly.

" Damn you stupid pest, this isn't up for negotiation. They Can't Come."

" I'm not going anywhere without them." Zack replied, stubbornly as ever. Connell smiled and laughed, Marie looking pretty happy himself.

" They're getting along well." he mused aloud, getting Connell laughing again. Luke stared at the two of them.

" That's getting along nicely?" Luke inquired, laughing a bit too. He knew Zack, this was just like his friend. " I'd hate to see when they're not getting along well. This seems bad enough by itself."

" They'd probably be at each others' throats," Connell kept right on laughing, grinning, " like they were the first time."

" No doubt." Marie agree, just as the boat got ready to pull out. NO more time to delay.~~~

-oooooOOOOOOOOYYYYYYYYYYYY!! *lands on something soft* Huh. Well. That was anti-climatic. Anyways, we'll find out who stays and who goes, so to speak, next chapter. Until then, REVIEWS!! I ENJOY THEM!! Remember that when you're sitting around bored with some of those other silly stories out there. Have a good day!


	10. Case Ten: The Angel

WOW! It's been forever! I'M SO SORRY! OMG! Anyways, here's the next chapter (finally) go ahead and read it!~~~~

Zack whistled down at the stern of the ship, watching the water lap at the sides of the boat with a semi-smile.

" Proud of yourself, are you?" Glancing up, Zack saw Luke and grinned at him.

" Yes, actually. I'm very proud of myself." he replied and they walked together along the stern of the ship for a bit, eventually stopping and leaning on the railing. Luke raised an eyebrow at his friend, quizzically. Zack only shrugged at him. " What can I say? I like being a pain in the ass. At least I planned it out right."

" Yes, you're a brillant stratigest."

" Well, there's no need to be sarcastic." the they both smiled and laughed to one another. Zack pulled out his cigarettes and lights one up, offering one to Luke as always. And, like usual, Luke waved the offer away. Shrugging, Zack tucked the pack away, exhaling smoke into the air. " Nice night for a smoke."

" You would say something like that." Luke said, as they both gazed up at the star speckled sky, the moon glowing gently as could be. A warm summer breeze blew, tugging softly at their clothes and knocking the smoke in the air around before allowing it to drift into the air like before. " Of course, your probably right about that. It certainly is a beautiful night out tonight."

" That's what makes it a nice night for a smoke." Zack answered, exhaling smoke again like before.

" Whatever, man, whatever." Luke replied, then added thoughtfully. " Cara will kill you if she finds you smoking again"

" SH!" Zack hissed back, frantically. " Shut up. Don't tell her." he paused, giving a soft smile. " This is the first one I've had all week, and it's Friday. Remember before we adopted Cara? God! I smoked like a kitchen chimney!" he exhaled a stream of smoke again, smiling. " A pack a day, sometimes more. Man, I was screwed up then." he chuckled a bit.

" Then?" Luke asked, and Zack shoved him, sensing the joke in his voice.

" Shut up." smoke exhaled again.

" We were both pretty bad back then." Luke replied thoughtfully." You were smoking insanely and being reckless as ever. Meanwhile, I was a workaholic, so much that I didn't eat for days on end. I'm surprised I never collapsed from hunger or exhaustion." Zack thought about this.

" Yeah, you always were pretty wobbly back then. I knew you skipped meals, but I never kept track of how many." he put the cigerette between his fingers, thinking now too. " I was a pretty crappy friend for not noticing how bad it was, really."

" We both were. I did the same thing, not even trying to help you get through some of that stuff." Luke insisted on sharing the blame with Zack.

" All we really had were our jobs." Zack said, getting Luke to glance at him. " Think about it. We're both hundreds of miles from out families. Mine are all retarded fools, and yours are all stuck up snobs, you've told me that yourself." Luke nodded his head to this statement.

" I never saw you with any friends and I certainly didn't have any to bring home. No girlfriends, not married," they both laughed at this, " that's still true though. All we ever had were co workers and telemarketers calling us until after Cara came around. Work was all we had. A hunger for knowledge and justice." Luke nodded to the truth of this comment too and gave a hum of acknowledgement.

A realization went through Zack then. " We were on the road to ruin, weren't we?"

" Self-destruction, the both of us. The way you were throwing yourself into things you were bond to be killed. I was about to work myself to the bone until all that was left was my lifeless body." he said, solemn faced. Zack glanced down at his cigarette that he'd yet to put back to his lips. He watched it smoke, only half used, with sad eyes. "Cara became our little angel, didn't she?" Zack smiled and nodded to this.

" She saved our lives, Luke," Zack answered though they'd both known this for awhile, " without even being anyone other then herself, she gave us a reason to actually want to live." with that, Zack put out his cigerette, tossing it in a near by waste hummed and smiled at his friend as they watched the sky like a pair of old man at a bar.

" Speaking of that little angel, where is she? I thought she'd be sticking to Connell, you and I like glue while we were here." The tow of them began to look around, arching their necks to get a good search around different objects.

" I"m not sure." Luke admitted, then laughed. " We're pretty bad parents if we can't even keep track of our one daughter."

" Bah!" Zack spat to him. " She's not a trouble maker. She hardly ever needs to be looked after." they both straightened and prepared to look for her. " She's probably asking some sailor how the anchor works or helping some kitchen guy with food." he stretched and they began to walk off.

" Should find Connell while we're at it. Lord knows he's more likely to be up to no good then Cara is." They laughed and walked off.~~

They found her in the bow of the deck, bothering Marie and Daisya. Marie was showing her how to make Cat's Cradle with some string they had. Cara watched, mystified, then started repeating the steps with him. Quickly she became bored with this, leaping at Daisya. She grabbed onto his hood, trying to hide behind him and see how long it took him to notice her.

Of course he knew she was there, but played along to amuse Cara for the time being.

" AH! A ball!" she exclaimed with excitement, touching Daisya's Innocence. For a brief, when her hands touched it, there was a spark of white light. As quickly as it came it vanished from sight. Daisya and Marie blinked, lost as to what the light had been or even if there really had been one at all. For the moment, the both of them shrugged it off.

" It's not a ball. It's my Chariety Bell." Daisya told her, tossing his head to get her to let go of his Innocence. Cara blinked up at him in that childish way for a moment.

" It's a bell?" she inquired.

" Yes."

" Well, that's silly."

" Why's that?" Daisya was a bit annoyed that some little kid was calling him silly. Cara gave a smile and a giggle that could have even have disarmed Kanda had he been there at the time. She grabbed the Charity Bell as it swung past her, looking at it's design curiously.

" I dunno about you, Mister, but this doesn't look like any bell I've ever seen." she answered him still laughing that adorable little laugh at him.

" Cara, behave yourself." Luke said as he and Zack approached them. All of them glanced up at Luke and Zack, Cara's face instantly lighting up as she saw the two older men. She dropped the Charity Bell and ran over to them. Crouching down, Luke got a big hug from the little girl and smiled. Setting her back on her feet he patted her head, thankfully.

"We're guests here, Cara, remember your manners." Cara looked at him and nodded understanding.

" Be on your best behavior too, little one." Zack added in. Smiling, Cara went and grabbed onto Zack's waist, hugging again.

" You guys got it." she exclaimed, grinning. Sighing once, Zack stroked her hair, smiling wearily at her. Suddenly, he heard her sniffing his coat. She stepped back from him, frowning angrily at him. " You were smoking again, weren't you, Zack?" Zack looked desperately at Luke, who offered no sympathy for him.

" You dug your own grave on this one, Zack," Luke told him, shrugging," I told you she'd kill you if she found out you were smoking. You're on you own for this one, man."

" So you were smoking again!" Cara exclaimed, disgustedly, digging her small hands into another set of Zack's pockets. " So, where'd you put them, huh?"

" No,no! Come on, Cara! This is less then when I smoked during high school. Can't we just be happy for my progress thus far?" he asked, kneeling down to look her in the eyes.

They hugged again, and Zack laughed. Coming apart, Cara grinned in an unsettling way at Zack and she ran off a few feet away. Grinning still so proudly, she stuck her tongue out at him, holding up his pack of cigarettes.

" Got them!" she pronounced, boldly, then ran as Zack began to chase after her. Because of her lead, Cara made it to the edge of the deck before Zack caught her free arm.

It was too late, though. Cara threw the box over the side of the boat, and all Zack could do was watch as it fell into the sea. Zack sighed, as this was the fate of any cigarettes he left within Cara's reach.

" Man." he mumbled, kicking himself for not finishing the one he put out earlier now.

" When I say no, I mean no." Cara insisted, hands on her hips, face puffed up in a pout of displeasure. She even went so far as to stomping her foot, demanding. " You're doing well, now quit altogether and my work will be done with you." Sighing, Zack slouched against the railing, smiling at her still, even laughing at her stubbornness. Shrugging, he shook his head at her.

" You're worse then an in-law, do you realize that, Cara?" he asked her, and Cara crossed her arms.

" Be glad I am or you'll never quit, Zack." she persisted, showing a determination that Luke figured she was beginning to pick up from Zack. Zack only sighed and chuckled in a low voice. Then he straightened up. Tilting his head slightly to the side he nodded and shrugged.

" Alright, Cara," he said, patting her on the head," if you think it's time for me to quit completely, then I'll try."

"Do or do not. There is no try." Cara answered, smiling.

" Whatever you say, Master Yoda." they laughed at the Star Wars references.

In the distance, hiding but close enough to hear, was Kanda watching this all play out. Just then, Connell came around the bend, watching a bit of what happened with the young exorcist. He smiled, seeing the way Kanda watched them. There may have been a frown on his face, but he was interested in what he watched play out between Zack and Cara. Well, Connell guessed it would be a curious thing to an outsider looking in.

" Why does he let her do that?" Kanda asked, almost to himself. " He could punish her for something like that."

"Jealous, are you?" Connell asked, Kanda instantly giving him an annoyed glare.

" Why would I be?" he answered with his own flat question.

" There's no need to be snippy, it was just an observation." Connell waved away his irritation. " She is a very privileged child, and gets away with things most kids twice her age normally can't even get away with. She's nine, by the way." he added grinning, his eyes watching his boss, his boss' friend, and the daughter they shared. " They certainly baby her too. I've never seen a nine year only who gets carried around as much as she does. Then again," he spoke thoughtfully now," she's an unusual case.' Kanda looked at him,  
obviously wanting more information.

" An 'unusual case'?" he asked Connell. The interrogator smiled at the exorcist and waved him away again.

" Not to be rude, but I'm not in the right to talk about it." he answered and added, pointing."If you really want to know, talk to them. Luke and the Chief might be a bit squeamish about it, but they might be willing to tell. Cara would be the best bet though." he grinned when Kanda seemed unnerved by the idea. " Not good with kids, I'm guessing? Well, despite that it's her story, she's probably the most comfortable talking about it. Then you'll understand why those two do what they do for her." Connell insisted, giving Kanda an overly friendly pat on the back. This guy reminded Kanda of that idiot, Lavi . . .

" Uncle James! Mister! What're you doing?" Cara called out form a little ways off, making the two stiffen and Connell sigh.

" Ah shit," he murmured to himself before shouting without hesitation, " playing hide and seek, Cara, what else?" The girl smiled, but still tilted her head in a questioning way at Connell. Connell swaggered up to them, Kanda just walking still watching them all, really.

" Although, it was Zack who was supposed to be seeking. You're too good at this game, Cara, why'd you have to go telling him where I was hiding?" he was clearly joking, coming up to Kanda and saying. " I told you we needed a better hiding place. Jeez . . ." Kanda got instantly irritated with Connell, especially when the interrogator threw his arm over Kanda's shoulder.

" You know, you're pretty weird, Uncle James." Cara said and Connell clenched his chest asa the joke went on.

" Uh! That hurts, Cara! You're so cruel!" he exclaimed onward, acting like a fool. Zack knelt down so Cara could give him a high five. Connell frowned, straightening from his melo-drama and shaking his head at his boss. "Somehow, I'm not surprised at you being mean to me, Chief." Zack grinned and laughed.

" As well you shouldn't be surprised, Connell." Zack replied bluntly grinning wolfishly at his employee and friend. He took quite the joy in teasing his friend as he saw fit at any time he thought appropriate. Well, it wasn't his job to be nice to them. His job was to make them better people, and if it meant pushing their buttons to any extent, he could and would take it into his own hands to push their limits.~~~

Well, that's the chapter. Most of it was to try and get an idea of what sort of back ground these characters have and the sort of relationship they have with one another. There's also some hinting at things I'm not going to get to until much later, so be patient! I assure you I'm working on it and I'll try to update more often! PLEASE DON'T DISOWN ME! T_T Anyways, now that you're done reading, REVIEW PLEASE! Thank you!


	11. Case Eleven: The Order

HA HA! Next chapter is up! Enjoy!~~~~

They soon came in on the back docks of the Black Order, and hurried off with luggage in their hands they walked about the dock, looking all around their new surroundings. Cara only carried a small backpack of personal belongings and Zack carried her luggage for her. However, they found had been ready for their arrival, and had several people on hand to meet them once the boat had docked. Several came to take luggage, but Cara was reluctant to let the backpack go, at first.

" Go on, Cara," Luke encouraged her, as she seemed a bit timid, " give your bag to him. They'll give it back just the way it came, right?" he directed the question tot he man whom had asked Cara for the bag. He smiled kindly and nodded to her for reassurance.

" Absolutely." he said to her. Cara, taking one glance back and forth between Luke and the man, timidly handed the man her bag. He took it gently from her to show that he meant what he'd said to her before.

" Careful with it." she told him. " It's important to me." The man knelt down and smiled at her.

" I'll handel it personally and with the ut-most care." he answered her and Cara's face lights up right away.

" Thank you!" she says, honestly and the man flushed slightly, unused to such praise from such a young child. She was such a sweet little one . . .

" Only two rooms were set up." one said noticing that there were four guests instead of the expected two.

" Put the blue and black cases in one room and the brown and little case in the other." Zack instructed, though it was a bit out of place at the current time because he wasn't exactly an authority figure like he was in normal society within the Black Order. Well, not yet anyways. He was sure to have his way once the rest of the Order saw his position on these things. There was always a way to teach them, even if they were unwilling to learn. . .

Besides, Zack had many cases where Connell and himself were confided to one small, cramped room together for long hours of surveillance and the such. This would be easy in comparison. That and it kept Luka and Cara's involvement in the case at a controllable minimum for their stay with the order. Although, Zack didn't know how things were run here, so things could change. For now, though, this would do the best.

Meanwhile, Kanda, Marie, and Daisya were leaving them.

" Your guide will be here any minute. We have our own rooms to stay in." Kanda said, plain as day. Zack couldn't help thinking that the boy was such a sour person. Then again, he corrected himself, he'd been pretty sour when he was that age too. Really, he had no right to think such a thing as that.

Cara saw them leaving and hurried after them before they got too far away.

" Hey! Wait a minute, Mister!" she called, running up to them. Marie and Daisya stopped, both glancing back at her to see which "mister" she wanted to stop and wait for her. Kanda kept right on going, but a tug at the back of his uniform made him halt in his footsteps. "Mister, wait a second please."

Marie and Daisya both shrugged to each other and went on leaving again, seeing as Cara didn't want to speak to either of them. Kanda was getting rather tired of this " Mister" bit from the little girl.

" I'm Kanda." he said, and when she tiltied her head at him in befuddlement he repeated himself. " Y-u K-a-n-d-a is my name." Realization swelled in her eyes and she nodded that she took note of this fact. Delighted for some reason, she clapped her hands.

" You're Japanese, right?" she asked him, suddenly, getting Kanda staring at her for a few moments. "was I right? YAY!" she smiled sweetly now as she explained herself. " There's a girl in my class that has a name that sounded weird to me like that and she told me it was cause it was Japanese."

Frowning at her, Kanda had gotten Cara giggling from his facial expression. He didn't like that way she said his name " sounded weird", but he wasn't going to let a child ruffle him either. Cara seemed to realize how this sounded.

" Opps, sorry. I didn't mean anything by it-" she stopped herself abruptly and shook her head, as if to clear it. " Anyways," she got back on topic," come play with me sometime, please?" she asked him. All he could do was stare at her, truth be told. he wasn't a people person to begin with, children were way out of his range of understanding.

" It'll be fun! We can talk and stuff too!" she said then turned and waved before he could give her an answer. Kanda watched as she rejoined her group, wondering just what sort of unusual case this girl could have been in.  
Staying there, he continued watching when thier tour guide, Lenalee, arrived and greeted them all.

Cara stared, mystified, at Lenalee with a wide shameless smile drawn across her sweet little child featured face.

" Wow," she said in an amazed, all eyes falling on her," you're so pretty." Lenalee smiled at Cara's compliment as it got the three adult men laughing at her up front comment. Cara stuck out her hand, ready to give a hand shake to Lenalee. "I'm Cara, nice to meet you."

It took Leanlee a moment to figure out what Cara's outstretched hand meant, but when she did figure it out, she took the little girl's hand for a good, more firm then she was expecting hand shake.

" My name's Lenalee Lee. I'll be your guide around today." she said, glancing up at the three men with the little girl. Zack and Connell flipped their badges to her, while Luke held up a business card for the female exorcist to see.

" Zack DeRoy," Zack shook hands with Lenalee too now," this is my college, James Connell, and personal friend, Luke Darrow." He sent a warning glare at Connell to be sure his employee behaved himself. It was rather unnerving to Zack just how much Connell took to chasing younger women. Lenalee was sure to be a target for him, but Zack wanted Connell at his beck and call at all times in case things went wrong.

" A pleasure to meet you." Connell said, grinning at Lenalee. Zack stomped on his foot, and Connell cringed and yelped, glaring at his boss for a short time. Lenalee, confused, smiled, and shook hands with Luke now.

" Don't mind them. They're always like this." he told her, giving what reassurance he could manage to her. " Nice to meet you, Lenalee."

" Nice to meet you all too. Follow me and I'll show you around." she directed them around the place. From here to there, dorm rooms, dining hall, this place had everything.

What made this all unnerving, however, was that people everywhere were pointing and staring, whispering to each other. It was obvious what the topic of choice was. Zack's thoughts of acting like a normal new inhabitant of the order was shot into the dust after crumbling to pieces. Blending in would've worked so nicely for this situation too . . .

Once more, Zack also took note to the different clothes he saw the people wearing. Some wore uniforms similar to Daisya, Marie, and Kanda. However, these ones seemed to be far less then the other clothes worn. The vast majority wore hooded, light colored clothes that had perfect symmetry if folded length wise. People that had neither of these uniforms had lab coats or wore regular clothes. The people whom occupied those clothes were all unique and different. All of them, however, seemed to be taking in the party of four that entered as much as Zack and his party were taking in the lot of them.

" Feel like an alien yet, Chief?" Connell asked, leaning to speak into his boss' ear. Zack snickered a bit.

" I do." Luke put it softly to the two of them. " It's like they've never seen the average joe before." Glancing around uneasily he added. " Or a little girl before, for that matter."

Cara, who was totally at ease around all of these people, ran about, looking at this or that thing or person in some cases. Meanwhile, the crowds around them took particular notice and interest in Cara as she hustled about the rooms. Lenalee looked at the men, incredulously.

" Shouldn't you all be looking after her?" she asked, stern faced. The three men blinked at her, almost as if they thought she was kidding or stupid in some way. Why would they let her run around by herself like that? Her maternal instincts told her this just wasn't right. However, all three let out a laugh at this question of her's.

" The wind can not be restrained so easily, milady." Connell said, getting a smack in the back of the head from Zack.

" We are looking after her," Zack said, simply now, as if his previous action hadn't actually occurred, " she's not a baby. Let her quell her curiosity by exploring. No harm, no fowl, as the saying goes." Lenalee frowned, obviously disagreeing with the statement. Just then, Cara came running back over to them. She smiled and skipped along between Luke and Zack, taking hold of both of their hands.

" Well, look who decided to join us." Luke said, smiling as Cara giggled. " Making any friends while your out, Cara?" She nodded enthusiastically at him.

" Being careful, I hope, little one?" Zack inquired, and Cara's head swung to look at him. She nodded, meaningfully in return. Zack then nodded to her as she grew a smile and continued to skip along between the two of them.

Finally, Lenalee showed them to their rooms. The Black Order had been nice enough to put them all in rooms beside each other. Zack was glad for that. He could keep track of Cara and Luke easily this way. That and he could talk to them if he needed to at any time.

Luke and Cara were ushered into their room on the right first. Opening the door, Cara rushed in and grabbed up her backpack. Instantly she opened it up, looking through it quickly. She sighed and smiled. Luke went and patted her head, sitting down next to her. Zack smiled, almost sadly at them. Coming in, he knelt down to look Cara in her big, curious eyes.

"I'm right next door if you need me." he said, pointing at the wall. Cara smiled.

" I'll remember that, Zack." she said. Laughing once, Zack ruffled her hair and straightened, walking out the door with a little wave. Then the door shut gently behind them.

" You know, it's annoying knowing someone has something to say to you, but they just won't say it." Zack snapped softly at Lenalee. Lenalee stared at him, lost.

" I agree." Connell said, shoving his hands into his pockets," it's hard to try and have a good time with your friends when there's a shadow on you shoulder, so to speak." They turned towards Lenalee. " What is it you want to say to us that you couldn't say in front of Luke and Cara?" Lenalee glanced between the tow investigators for a long time.

" We're alone, Lenalee, just say it." Zack's crisp reply was more then just a bit intimidating. What was scary was that he was well aware of how intimidating he could be. It was good to know how to use this ability with others, especially with tricky investigations.

In most cases, Connell was the good cop and Zack was the bad cop. Cliche as it seems, this method actually worked for them. Connell smirked slightly, advancing on Lenalee. Obviously, Lenalee takes a step back, hitting the wall. Sticking his arm out, Connell prevented her from getting anywhere.

" It was obvious," he whispered in a ghastly tone of voice, leaning to speak into her ear, " by the way you acted when you first saw us. You looked at Chief and I before Luke and Cara." he chuckled a sinister sort of laugh. Lenalee's skin began to crawl horribly feeling the way he breathed against her shoulder while he spoke.

" Why? We were in the back. By all reason, you should have seen them first. You got our descriptions from someone and knew which people you needed to talk to before we even introduced ourselves-" He halted mid way through his sentence when Zack clasped his shoulder with a hard grip.

" I've already told you to behave. Don't you ever listen?" Zack spoke, giving Connell's arm a hard squeeze so that the other man's expression turned downwards. Smiling and laughing, Connell straightened up, shaking Zack's hand off his shoulder.

" Chief, you're no fun!" he exclaimed, pouting. " I was just playing. Don't be such a stick in the mud."

" That's fun?" Zack asked, cocking a quizzical eyebrow at him. Giggling, Connell nodded to Zack who shook his head. Then their focus returned to Lenalee, who had backed away from them, unnerved by the two of them.

" Who are you people?" she asked with a deep breath to calm herself.

" We could certainly ask the same of you." Zack replied rather unhelpfully to her. Connell started chuckling at his Chief. Indefinitely, this was just he way his boss was, there was simply no helping.

" Lenalee, we are investigators. Who are you?" he asked, cautiously but careful with his words. Tapping his head thoughtfully, Connell smiled, now kindly, to her.

" That's what we've come to find out. So, come on, what is it you want the two of us for?" Despite the kind sound of his voice, Connell still seemed to demand the answer rather then suggest she give him an answer. Lenalee hesitated a moment. Then she turned and made a gesture to them.

" Follow me." she said, feeling that somehow she'd failed in some way. Though, in what way failed, she couldn't even begin to guess. With that she led the way for the two of them. Glancing at each other a moment, Zack gave the smallest nod of his head at Connell, who was looking eager as always.

" So, Lenalee," he began in a sort of carefree tone of voice," do all of the female exorcists wear short skirts, or is that just a personal preference?" The abruptness and content of the question made Lenalee flush bright red fast. The two men held back their laughing as much as they could manage to. Zack managed to hold it within him, but Connell just couldn't help it and laughed aloud. Lenalee turned disgusted eyes on him, looking ready to slap him. As for Zack, he settled for looking more then just pleasantly amused.

" He was kidding, Lenalee." Zack said, grinning at her. Lenalee wheeled her eyes to look at Connell who was shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head.

" Duh." he replied, laughing again. " Believe it or not, I've been able to stay with my current girlfriend for about five years now. Since college, now that I think about it." Lenalee nodded her head, her face grim looking.

" You're right, I don't believe it." she told Connell outright.

" Ouch!" Connell exclaimed dramatically as always while Zack let himself to laugh right out loud at this.

" Owned, dumb ass!" he said, his hands shoved into his pockets as they had been since Cara had let go of his hand earlier. Zack kept laughing and Connell joined right in with him after a his few moments of play drama. It was such a strange thing to Lenalee, that men whom were with the police seemed so normal. Like the everyday person in so many ways.

" Your badge means you're both with the police?" Lenalee asked the two of them now, almost suddenly. Both glanced up at her with innocent looking faces, then Zack sighed and a smile played lightly across his face in reply. Connell grew a smile too at this.

" Yes, we are." Connell told her, shoving his hands into his pockets now as well. The girl's eyes narrow suspiciously at the two of them, but they stood more then open and honest before her. Still, she was weary with them.

" What branch of the police did you come from, may I ask?" she inquired of them.

True, this was a question that the two men should have thought of talking about earlier. The two planned to have as few people as possible know that this was a homicide investigation. It was simply best for everyone that way, and for some reason, Kanda and his two exorcist friends had insisted that none know that this un-named exorcist lady was dead.

" Missing persons." Zack answered without a hint of hesitation in his voice or sign of the blunt lie he gave to her. Connell made sure nothing about his person seemed out of place or uneasy at this bluff. Behavior was critical to this profession at times like this, undercover, and about to be caught. So, Connell forced a languid shrug of his shoulders.

" Really?" Lenalee persisted, not sounding like she believed them right now. Zack, however, had been undercover too many times to be fooled by such a thing as this. He gave a firm nod of his head.

" She was reported missing a few days ago, and after a long chain of events we found a link to her and the Black Order within our evidence. Finding your fellow exorcists was a matter of chance, truth be told." Zack added, thoughtfully, and obviously, this comment made Lenalee curious.

" How's that?" she asked them and Connell jumped back into the conversation very casually at that point.

" Well, we passed by this crime scene on the way to one of the other departments of the police in town. We always visit the other departments to see if they've found anything that could be of use to us in some way, and the akuma started an attack. Your fellow exorcists and the both of us just happened to be close by at the time." Connell explained with a sigh and a shake of his head.

This was the time where they could make it or break it. Though they had been doing well thus far, it was luck that had saved them. Next time they would need to make sure their stories were staight before doing something like this.

" Really?" Lenalee spoke thoughtfully, but both Zack and Connell looked very sure. If this was a lie, they were good at playing lies for the truth.

" Yes," Zack replied, stomping Connell on the foot for no real reason so that the man let out a small yelp, " we were very lucky that everything turned out okay in the end. Now we can continue this case as well." Lenalee still seemed unsure of these things Zack and Connell were telling her.

" Who's the informant that reported her missing?" Lenalee asked, them, and yet again, this seemed to be an obvious question to ask to someone from missing persons that hadn't been discussed prior to entering into such a situation.

" That's classified." Zack immediately replied, as if this hadn't taken him any thought at all. Lenalee frowned, not satisfied with this answer that she was given. Not telling her just made this seem even more like a lie then before.

" Don't be confused," Connell now added in onto this answer that Zack gave her, "it's not because we don't want to tell you, it's the policy with missing persons. We aren't allowed to give out the name of our informants to protect them from potential killers that we may encounter along the way."

" Not to mention that this one specifically asked to remain anonymous." Zack put in also to her. " That was made quite clear to us when we met the person in question. It's odd having been actually requested for this case, don't you think, Connell?" Connell let out an easy going laugh, as always, nodding.

" Hey, our reputation preceeds us, Chief." he kept on nodding.

" When you're good, you're good as the saying goes." Zack replied to him in return.

Lenalee looked between the two men, seeking out some sort of hole or behavior that would give this away as the full out lie she felt that this all was. All of them were aware of the lie, even Lenalee, it was obvious. However, she had no way to argue the point. All of this was by the book, as far as she was aware, and with these developments in the lie, there was no way for her to force the lie out of them at this point.

" We really are sorry about this, but it's how things are run in our department." Connell said to her, earnestly apologizing to her. " Please try to understand that this is for the best of our client and everyone involved. If possible we'd like to keep this down to only one missing person rather then two. Can you understand that?"

" Oh, it's all right. No problem." Well, when he said it like that, how else was she supposed to respond to him then that? It bothered her greatly not to be able to pull the lie out of the two of them, but there was simply no helping it, she guessed. Connell gave an disarming smile at to her.

" Thank you." just then they came up on another person. Zack sized up this person very quickly, as he was used to doing. It took only a second to take in the appearance of this man.

He was in his mid-20s, about 25 if Zack had to guess by sight. The hat he wore was rather out of place compared to the while lab coat like uniform that hung about his shoulders. Glasses, he appeared like a scientist if ever Zack set eyes on one. Although, he seemed an unusual sort of person, seeing the strange mug, slippers, and as Zack had noticed before, the odd hat he wore around.

" Brother, you came in person?" Lenalee asked, hurrying up to him. That made Zack and Connell's jaws drop.

SIBLINGS? WHAT?

The man smiled at Lenalee, who frowned at him. "Don't you have work to do? You're not avoiding you're work and leaving it all for Reever to do by himself are you?" It was so obvious that Lenalee had hit the nail on the head that it was hard for Zack and Connell to hold their composure for this situation. He's stiffened visibly and began to stutter when he spoke next.

" N-N-NO! Of c-coarse not! Meeting with new exorcists in part of my job!" he insisted to her and she placed her hand on her hip, unconvinced for the time being. Meanwhile, he'd turned the attention back onto Zack and Connell being exorcist.

" I already gave Kanda the answer to that question when he said that we were exorcists too." Zack snorted at this man now, and Connell nodded darkly in agreement. " He did tell you my answer with my EXACT words, right?" Zack inquired, and the man lightly laughed at this.

" No, I don't think he gave me you're exact words," he replied to Zack, who scowled harshly, cursing Kanda a great deal under his breath, " but I got the basic idea of what your answers were . . ." he would've inserted a name, if he knew which one of them was Connell and which one was Zack, or that was Zack's assumption at the time.

" Zack DeRoy." he introduced himself in the most brief way possible.

" . . .Mr. DeRoy." he finished his previous sentence with that, which got Zack frowning at the formal term.

" I'm with the police, formality is wasted on men that deal with the scum of the earth." Zack told Lenalee's brother. " I'd prefer if you to call me just Zack." The brother nodded his understanding to this fact.

" That makes this-" he turned to Connell who grinned and stuck out his hand for a hand shake.

" James Connell. Most people just call me Connell, though." he replied, exchanging a warm handshake with this Black Order scientist.

Almost instantly, Zack was sure that he would have to avoid leaving these two to their own devices together. Already, he was getting this sinking feeling in his gut that these two together would be total chaos being around one another too much.

" Of coarse." Lenalee's brother answered back. They both grinned, and that was when Zack knew that he was right. " I'm Komui Lee. Head of this branch of the Black Order." Connell brightened considerably at hearing this from Komui.

" Really? Head of this branch?" he inquired, both curious but excited about what sounded to be a ranking system among the exorcists. So, there was a method to the madness, even in this place. That was good to know at least. Komui gave a bashful laugh and scratched his head.

" Well, yes." he replied, and Connell seemed to get more excited at this.

" Sounds awesome! Though, that's a lot of hard work, isn't it?" he asked now and Komui laughed like absolute crazy. Zack and Connell glanced at each other. Clearly, they had missed something. Where was the punch line in all of that?

" You have NO idea." he answered, and turned to Lenalee at this point. " I'll take over from here, Lenalee." Lenalee tilted her head. This wasn't how things were planned out for all of this, or that's how it appeared to Zack and Connell. " Allen just arrived back a short while ago." Komui's explaination was short and to the point. This convinced Lenalee right away, and after saying a brief farewell to her brother and the two investigators, she hurried off.

" Allen, huh?" Connell asked, curiously, turning to Komui. " A friend of Lenalee's?"

" Sometimes a brother must sacrifice himself for his younger siblings!" Komui exclaimed rather dramatically at that point. That got Connell laughing right along with Komui.

" I completely understand!" he called just as dramatically back to the branch chief. Each turned and met the others hands with their own as Connell continued the joke. " Believe it or not, but I, too, have a younger sister!"

" No!"

" Yes!" Connell replied excitedly as ever. " Don't you just get so excited when you see how well they grow up! Trying to act all tough and everything?" Komui let out an over played gasp of joy, as the theatrics continued.

" Finally! Someone how understands what it's like!" he squealed like a girl, and Connell and Komui proceeded to both let out girlish squeaks and gossip in low voices, obviously leaving Zack out at this point. Finally, Connell glanced over at his boss.

" Chief, you feeling alright?" he asked, and Zack seemed suddenly to appear very ill.

" No. I think I'm gonna go find somewhere to hurl." Zack replied, getting Komui and Connell laughing again. Yeah, those two together wasn't good. Not at all.

" Anyways," Komui said, and began to lead them along the path Lenalee had been showing them previously, " are you sure about the answer to us before?"

The mood instantly darkened at this point. This was a very touchy subject, and Zack was more then just a little unwilling to go along with this. It wasn't that the offer didn't have a great deal to offer to him. It did, but there was too much to lose.

" No," he said, shaking his head with a firmness of certainty, " my answer will not change. I have a family to consider in all of this." Komui found this rather curious, apparently.

" A family? How old are you both exactly?" he asked them. They both blinked back rather lostly at him at this point.

" 25." Connell answer, and Zack's reply came after his.

" 22, why?"

" A family at 22? And a good job?" Komui might have died of shock at that one. Zack was younger then Connell, but Zack was Connell's boss? Something seemed very off about that entire situation with the two of them. Connell figured that out first, going to explain to him.

" Chief here is what we like to call too smart for his own damn good. I prefer the word over achiever." this earned Connell a glare from Zack, who was silent for now.

" Though my Chief may be lacking in some common sense areas, he actually graduated and joined the force back to back when he was only 20. After about a year he showed such promise that they gave him his own team at age 21. It's really only been a year, hasn't it though, Chief?" Zack's face had turned slightly red out of shyness to his own accomplishments, and he gave a semi-bashful nod to Connell.

" A year and a half next month." he informed Connell, who let out a whistle.

" Damn, time flies, doesn't it, Chief?" Connell kept on talking. Zack only grunted and shrugged his shoulders to answer his employee. Komui still seemed inquisitive.

" But a family?" he persisted, and, after glancing at each other for a moment, Zack and Connell smiled and laughed a little to each other. This, obviously, confused Komui.

" Trust me, that's a long story that can later for another time." Zack evaded this intrusion into his life for now, as he glanced up. " Is this where we're headed?"~~~~~

Alright then! All done! More DGM characters are going to be coming into play now, so be prepared! That and the next stage of the investigation is about to begin! WOOT! More fun to come. PLEASE REVIEW! Thanks for reading!


	12. Case Twelve: Hevlaska

Yippy! Next chapter is up already! I'm going to try my best to update at a more constant rate now that the summer's here. I make no guarantees, however, so please don't be mad. ^^; Anyways, on with the story!~~~

" Yes, this would be it." Komui told them. Pushing open the door, Komui gestured for the two of them to enter while he held the door. Zack and Connell glanced at each other a moment. Connell shrugged his shoulders, but Zack folded his arms, stubbornly as ever. With a wave of his hands, Connell made a gesture for him to stay calm, and walked into the room.  
Sighing, Zack shook his head, but followed after Connell, glaring at Komui as he passed by the man.

" He's suspicious." he hissed, unhappily to Connell.

" You think me, of all people, didn't notice that, Chief?" Connell retorted, and Zack only continued to frown on him. " It's probably something completely harmless, Chief. Komui's the type of guy who would play a bad joke, but apologize for it later. Even with the little conversation we had with him, it's easy to see that. You could even figure that out and this is my specialty." Zack grunted, still unconvinced by Connell's explanation. All Connell did was chuckle at this. No matter what, Zack would just be Zack. Nothing more and nothing less.

Either way they all entered, Komui shutting the door. They had walked out onto a platform that almost seemed to hover in the air. Zack had his doubts that it was actually floating by itself, being the logical and skeptical kind of person that he was. There were bars preventing someone from falling off the side of it, or that was the assumable purpose of the bars. It seemed rather ineffective in Zack's opinion, but then again, he wasn't in the right to give out said opinion. The room was completely dark, not a single light on to show the way once the door had been shut.

On instinct, Connell and Zack came closer together. It had become a regular reflex for how often they ended up getting into a bind with each other. Gradually, they would end up back to back with each other.

" Want to change your opinion yet?" Zack hissed to Connell, who gave a bashful laugh in reply to him at that point.

" It's probably nothing." he insisted, firmly sticking to what he had said before to Zack. Connell had learned that when working with Zack, it was important to be right, but also to stick by what you say when things seem bad.

Unless you really were wrong, that was a whole other realm entirely.

Both of them suddenly jumped in terror when they were both seized by something they couldn't see still. Out of reflex, Zack reached for his gun. It was something he always kept on his person, so even on a regular day, he'd have it strapped to himself within his clothes.

Except it was gone! In all Zack's life, this was the worst of times in his mind for his weapon to suddenly be out of his arm's reach. Terror whipped through his body when he couldn't find where he absolutely knew he'd had it, not that he had much time to consider this terror. He'd been pulled off the platform altogether, with Connell, being held up by something that was clearly larger then the both of them. Panic seeped into Zack's every muscle, but he struggled and remained as calm as he was able to at the time.

" Easy now," a new voice said, a woman's voice it sounded like, " if you struggle too much, I might end up dropping you both by mistake."

It was around this time that Zack's eyes had finally begun to adjust to the little lighting. He hadn't noticed it before, but there were a few lights in the room. Maybe he hadn't noticed that because he'd been at ground level and now he wasn't. Zack couldn't be sure. Every urge in his mind was telling him to try and pry free, but the woman's voice had a point, and Zack saw the logic in it. After all, he was an unknown distance away from his former place on the platform. Possibly not even in a place where if he somehow managed to survive the fall from the distance between where he was and the platform, that he would actually land on it. The room had appeared very large when they had entered, and the platform had been very small in comparison. So, by this logic alone he stopped his struggles.

The woman chuckled lightly to him.

" What's so funny?" Zack couldn't help but mutter this at her. This only got her chuckling even more at him then before. Finally, he was able to make out more of the form that had a hold on him. A huge being, that seemed even more unreal then anything Zack had seen thus far, even the akuma.

" You're a stubborn one through and through. Even to the core of your soul." she said to him, giving a smile and a light laugh once more at him. She was, in fact, the huge person holding both Connell and Zack at this point. Despite her appearence, however, Zack found it hard to stay fearful with the way she kept laughing as lightly as she did. In a way, her speaking reminded him of how he often thought a mother would speak to her silly child. It may have been directed at him, a full grown adult, but this didn't prevent the feeling that she was someone far wiser then he could ever imagine possible.  
'

" I could have told you that." Connell laughed at what she had said about Zack. Zack crossed his arms and frowned greatly at Connell who went on laughing like usual. That was so typical of Connell it was ridiculous. Yet, even so, his smile was contagious, and Zack couldn't quite hold back a small smirk in reply to him.

" . . ." Zack was quiet still be told, on many subjects, Zack prefered to keep quiet and let things be. This was definitely one of those times. She went on giving off that light," motherly laugh at Connell and Zack.

"Oi!" Zack finally decided enough was enough. " What's the meaning of all of this anyways, Komui?" Komui stiffened, hoping he'd gotten away with this without getting into trouble. That wasn't happening, not with Zack DeRoy involved in all of this.

" Now now, don't be like that!" Komui insisted, pouting like a child would at a parent for denying him a toy. " All the exorcists have to come see Hevlaska when they enter the order. That's just how it is." he answered, seeing that Zack seemed prepared to keep arguing the point with him. However, Zack still refused to take that answer as easily as that.

" We already told you that we're not interested in joining the order!" he snapped back, earning him a giggle from Hevlaska again. A flush passed his face as he was reminded of what she'd said only a few moments ago. Ever stubborn, to the soul, eh?

" Doesn't matter!" Komui replied, folding his arms." Since you have the Innocence, you have to meet with Hevlaska." Zack frowned, still not satisfied with the answers he was getting. It was all too cut and dry for him. He like getting more details out of it other then just "this is how it is."

Hevlaska set Connell on his feet, deciding to check over Zack first, apparently. She giggled at his unease, while he still groped around hopelessly with his gun holster where his gun had suddenly disappeared from.

" Looking for something?" she said, and it appeared suddenly from Hevlaska in front of Zack. Staring, Zack reached and snatched up the gun, turning it over in his hands. Checking over all the parts of it with great detail, he cracked it open to check the barrel and everything. All looked unchanged, though he made a mental note to clean and look it over again later on when he had the time to do so. Leaning down, Hevlaska kissed the gun while it was held in Zack's hand. " 30 . . .50 . . .75% synchronization rate." she said, only confusing Zack still more. Komui whistled, amazed.

" That's a high rate for someone who seems to have only just discovered his Innocence. Not even trained under a general either." he spoke with amazement. Zack had no idea what any of this meant, looking annoyed and befuddled all at once. " How often do you carry that gun around with you?" That was a question that Zack refused to tell someone that he didn't know very well about.

" Why? Gonna jump me when I don't have it with me?" Zack replied, crossly. This earned him some more giggling from Hevlaska again, and laughing from Connell and Komui.

" You are a wounded knight," this sudden comment brought a silence over all, as Zack flicked his gray gaze back to Hevlaska again, " the greatest of God's angels rests within your soul. Calling on the strength of Rafael, you'll gain the wings to defend what you must for generations to come." Now, if the synchronization rates hadn't confused him enough, this just made it all the worse. Zack stared at her, like a lost child.

" What?" the words flickered about in his head, and he quickly memorized them, word for word, trying to find something in these words that made any remote sense to him. However, he found nothing, and Hevlaska seemed unwilling to provide any answers for him either. All she did was set him down, and move on to Connell.

Zack didn't pay attention to the numbers that Hevlaska was saying to Connell. He just stood, staring up at her as if somehow the answer was written all over Hevlaska for him to read as long as he looked hard enough for it. Obviously that wasn't true, and he then heard Hevlaska say an equally strange message to Connell.

" You, the loyal servant, have been the greatest of weapons." she told him, adding on still more. " Be weary of yourself, dear one. Your blade is double edged, and you're frailty may cost you much more then you ever planned to offer up. However, you will be the first to see the true coming of the times." With that she set him back on his feet as well. Zack and Connell glanced at each other, both rather lost, and Connell gave a shrug. He didn't have any better idea of what was going on then Zack did.

They could talk about all of this back in their rooms, however, so they left it be for now.

Now Komui was smiling up at Hevlaska, with one of those smiles that made him seem almost sweet rather then the terror that he sent them into a room to be abducted by a strange being in complete darkness. There was little talk about the two prophecies meant, though nothing that could have been very helpful to Connell and Zack in understanding all of this.

" I suggest that the two of them remain untrained by a general." Hevlaska told Komui, who frowned while he seemed to think over this idea. There was sure to be much protest if word got out about something like that going on. After all, every exorcist was trained by a general, at least for some length of time so they might control their innocence and survive long enough to be of use to the order.

" Are you sure?" he inquired, unconvinced. It was bad enough that the two of them were exorcists that refused to join the order without Hevlaska encouraging their unhelpful behaviors. She nodded her head to him, and Komui gave a sigh of dismay. He was never going to hear the end of this, but maybe it would be okay because Hevlaska was suggesting it. So, Komui conceded to Hevlaska's request with a bow of his head.

" No one needs to know they are exorcists. We'll say he's just a stubborn investigator who won't let go of a case involving one of your deceased exorcists." Komui suggested thoughtfully, more to himself then to anyone else around. Zack crossed his arms over his bosom.

" Which is the exact truth to the situation at hand, if you don't mind me saying so." Connell replied, unusually serious now with Komui. The chief of the order looked at Connell, blinking lost at him for a few moments as if only seeing him for the first time. " We'll need your complete cooperation with our investigation for this to go even remotely well. As you can well imagine, our superiors don't approve of us being here to begin with either. Chief here," Connell indicated Zack, who had shoved his hands back into his pockets," won't let things go that easily which is why we're even here at all." Komui nodded his understanding of this.

" I'll do my best to aid you in this investigation." Komui promised, raising his hand up to keep Connell from interrupting him in the middle of what he was saying. " However, I can not guarantee the cooperation of all of those within the Order. The exorcists or anyone else that you'll most likely come in contact with will decide for themselves whether to aid or hinder you no matter what I say to them." To that Zack gave a curt nod. A little disappointing, but none the less, it would do.

" That's fine." he said to Komui with a dismissive shrug. " In this line of work, I expect to be lied to. That's why I trust no one."

" My, that's quite an unpleasant view of things, isn't it?" Komui inquired, but Zack scoffed, reaching into his pocket for a cigarette. He kicked himself for this action because he'd forgotten that Cara had tossed his cigarettes over the side of a boat earlier.

" It's the way we must think." replied Connell back without a hint of hesitation. Glancing at Zack a quick moment. " With your permission, we have a few things we have to set up before we head to bed for the night." Komui, lost again, gave a nod of his head.

" Of course. Use any means you need to get this solved. So long as we get the body of our exorcist once this is all said and done with." he shrugged, but then gave a stern glare at the two of them. " That's the deal if I heard correctly from Kanda and the others, right? We get the body if you get your case?" Zack sniffed, scornful and gave a nod of affirmation.

" You think I would cheat you." Zack commented rather then asked Komui this. " Rest assured, you will have your body once my people are done with a complete, repeated check for evidence on the body." he explained to Komui why they needed to keep the body in the first place while adding. " That usually takes the majority of the time it takes my team and I to find and arrest the ones responsible for the death." Komui frowned, not satisfied with this answer at all.

" Isn't there any way for you to speed up the process for us?" he inquired. Connell opened his mouth to give an answer, but Zack cut him off before anything escaped his throat.

" No." he stated, firmly, and in a way that said there was no way to avoid this fact.

Then there were a few tense moments of silence. Komui expected Zack to say more on the topic, but Zack said nothing and Connell wasn't saying anything about this either. Zack actually expected Komui to keep pressing him with questions, but all Komui did in the end was nod his head to Zack.

" Alright then." he conceded again. It felt to Komui that he was conceding quite a bit to these simple investigators. Perhaps it was because he was curious about the situation that was presented to him that he allowed all of this with little question. Or maybe it was the way that he'd come to hate Rouvelier and those like him that made Komui feel that this was his little way to rebel against them. Either way, Komui allowed them in without too much resistance.

" I'm expecting great things from you two, wounded knight and loyal servant." Hevlaska said with a smile at the two of them. With that, they began to head out the room, Komui leading the way for them. Zack was the last to head out, thinking all the while.

" Does the situation you're in please you?" this single sentence stopped Zack in his tracks. He turned, staring at Hevlaska, as if it was the first time he'd seen her. Thinking about it for a moment, it took him some time to figure out that she was referring to the arrangement about not being trained by a general. Turning his head slightly to the side, Zack gazed at her a long moment. A smile creased his face then.

" You- . . .you're an interesting one, Hevlaska." he said twisting to head for the door again. " It does please me. How did you know?" Hevlaska smiled still more now at this. It felt almost like a conspiracy, the way Hevlaska and Zack spoke to each other. At least, that was how Zack felt about it all.

" Oi! Chief! Come one already!" Connell called back at him from the hallway outside of Hevlaska's room. Zack and Hevlaska kept on smiling at each other for a few more moments, and finally Zack turned around, never getting an answer from her. She never said a single word of answer to him.~~~~~

Alright! That's the chapter kids! Hope you enjoyed it! I'm hoping I did better and not saying redundancies and avoiding sentences that might be confusing. Hopefully I'm doing better at this. Anyways, review please! Tell me how I'm doing! Tell me if I'm off topic! Tell me if I'm just plain being silly! Send your comments my way, please! Thank you! Have a good day everyone!


	13. Case Thirteen: First Day

Okay, another chapter is up! This might seem fast to some of you and here's why. One.) I was bored for awhile and Two.) I just finished a separate story. So, from now on I'll be focused more on getting this story's chapters up. There's a little bit of an FYI about his story at the bottom of my profile. It's not vital information so you don't have to go see what it says, its just something I thought I maybe should have mentioned sooner. ^^; Anyways, check it out if you're curious, if not, just keep reading.~~~

Back at the room, Connell and Zack said farewell to Komui. He told them that he would send Lenalee back to lead them around more tomorrow morning even though Zack insisted that they need not bother themselves with showing them all around.

" Trust me," Komui told him," people can get hopelessly lost here. You'll thank me for having Lenalee show you around first." without letting Zack and Connell protest the point first, Komui shut the door and was gone when they went looking for him. So, Zack had shrugged and shut the door again. After that they began to settle into the room they were sharing.

" You have it in your suite case, right, Connell?" Zack asked, having set his few belongings into place very easily.

" Of course!" Connell insisted, proudly. " I'm not that stupid!"

" Well, hurry it up already!" Zack snapped back at him, annoyed. " We need to set this up as soon as possible. Knowing them, they're still probably in the lab, so we should be able to contact them even this late at night."Connell dug through his suite case grudgingly, pulling out a false bottom to the case. Within this false bottom was a laptop, wires, and other equipment that they had decided to bring along.

" Yeah, you've turned us all into night owls after all." Connell mentioned, setting the laptop on the floor and pushing open the screen, starting it up right away. Zack gave a smirk, but said nothing. Once the laptop had booted up, Connell began to set a program into place, moving his fingers across the keys of letters and numbers with a screen up that Zack couldn't understand in the least or even read.

" How the hell do you understand this?" he inquired, shaking his head and frowning. Connell grinned up at Zack while Zack began to pace about the room, impatiently.

" It's really not that hard to understand once you get it." Connell said, then opened his mouth to start explaining it to his boss, only to be interrupted by Zack clearing his throat.

" There is a reason that Kennedy works on our team, Connell." he said, only getting Connell laughing again as he looked back at the screen.

" I'll agree with that. Kennedy would make by passing this system within the Order look like child's play. Even with her explaining it to me, I still think she would've done this with quadruple the flair then I'm doing now.

" Don't you know it, Connell!" a voice came out of the laptop now. Glancing at one another again, Connell clicked a few more keys before moving the mouse and bringing up a big video screen. On the screen was Kennedy, Zagar, and Smith, all sitting together within the conference room that they always used as far as Zack could tell by what was in the background.

" Kennedy!" Connell squealed, gleeful. " You are all still up!"

" Yeah, been sorting out the stuff the Chief here wanted us to do while you guys were on your way to the Order." Zagar said, leaning leisurely as could be against the desk. " It is after hours though, so we might have to hurry off to keep from getting caught."

" Yeah. We're screwed if we get caught without Chief here to set things straight." Smith put in, bluntly. There was some staring from all be Zack at Smith for this comment.

" What have you got for me so far?" Zack inquired, sitting down in front of the laptop screen beside Connell now, eager as always for the answers he so wanted out of this.

" Still haven't got much to work with for an ID. Like we thought, her prints aren't in our data base." Smith frowned, disappointed that his search had brought nothing to the surface for them. " There's no background that I've been able to find on Kanda, Marie, or Daisya no matter where I look. Kennedy even checked her sources. Nothing." Zack raised his brows, his eyes falling on Kennedy.

" That's rare, that these sources of yours don't come through with something." he commented and she nodded affirmation to this fact.

" I know. It's all so strange, like everything is set against us figuring this case out, Chief." Kennedy said to him, only getting smack by Smith. " HEY! What was that for?" she cried out, holding her hurting cheek now only to have Smith no look at her.

" Ask Chief. He's the one who wanted to do that to you." he replied, tartly. Now Zack did stare at Smith, who glanced at him from the screen. Even so far apart, Zack felt a chill go up his spine when Smith looked at him like that. " Think of me like the accessory to this whole thing." All gazes fell on Zack, and he stood there very dumb for a bit, not understanding what Smith had meant by all of this.

" Don't say anything like that again, Kennedy. " Zack still found the words, and soon, he felt in his gut what Smith had meant when he said that Zack had wanted to smack Kennedy. " We will solve this case. The instant you start saying things like that is the instant that you will fail." to that there was a brief silence, and Kennedy took in what Zack had said then. " Now, tell me what we do know." Zack insisted to them.

" What we do know is we have a white female whom we found dead of a brutal tearing apart four hours prior to her discovery." Zagar stated, firmly to start.

" I've mapped out an area that would be within easy walking, car and train distance to the alleyway we found her in. By this information, we know she had to be within the city lines when she was attacked and murdered."Smith added in. " Evidence suggests that she was taken to that alleyway, because she'd have lost a lot of blood that we didn't find all over the alleyway."

" Any strange reports of a spot with too much blood to have a living person be it's source?" Zack put in, thoughtfully.

" I'll checked with the local police complaints and anything else that could lead us to such a scene, but since we haven't heard anything yet, I'm under the assumption that the area where the murder took place is either a place that isn't visited regularly or was washed away along the river bed." Kennedy put in what input she could get for this.

" That really limits our choices down, Chief!" Connell oozed excitement. Zack was too busy thinking at this point, racking his brain for what information he could remember to link something to what they had thus far.

" That trace we found in one of her wounds," he addressed Smith now," did you finish processing that yet?" to that, Smith shook his head.

" It took most of the day to map out the areas we're looking at so far and to try and get in tell on who we're dealing with." Smith explained when Zack gave a dissatisfied frown. " It couldn't be helped." Still, this didn't rid Zack of his unhappy face.

" Get that processed next, Smith." Zack said, getting a nod of affirmation from the quiet man. " Kennedy, Zagar, I'll be sending you a list of names sometime tomorrow morning.  
Try and find anything you can on any of these people. It makes me uneasy not knowing exactly who Connell and I are dealing with here."

" Right." Zagar said.

" You got it, Chief." Kennedy agreed with a smile and a salute. Oh, Kennedy, always quick to bounce back from problems and conflicts. Zack nodded to them from the screen.

" This will be fun for us, Chief," Connell commented, smiling to his boss, " thick in enemy territory with no information. That's a new challenge, isn't it?" his inquiry drew a sigh as Zack shook his head at Connell. He wasn't sharing in Connell's enthusiasm for this whole situation. Knowledge was power, and right now, there was so little Zack felt very uneasy.

" Let's just hope that things go as smoothly as setting up this broadcast did." Zagar answered Connell with a bit of concern for them. Kennedy and Smith nodded agreement with that.

" You're lucky I distracted them with a virus out here, Connell, or they would've noticed you breaking into their system." Kennedy scowled at Connell, who grinned back at her.

" I assume you left no trail back to us, Kennedy?" Zack interjected. Kennedy let out a curt laugh to this accusation, as if it had been stupid for Zack to ask such an obvious question.

" All they'll get is a trail leading back to the library's downtown branch. That computer can be accessed to anybody at any given time. I never signed in, so I don't exist in any sort of documentation. The only way they'll find me is if they try to find eye witnesses. Went disguised, by the way." Kennedy explained the whole entire thing to him right there. Well, that was certainly through, though Zack couldn't say that he totally approved of it all. Still, he allowed it, if it meant he could talk to his team under the table, so to speak.

" Alright," Zack conceded to this, " go home to your beds everyone. Keep yourselves healthy and get some rest. Tomorrow will be full of surprises." he began to get to his feet.

" How do you know?" Smith inquired, his head cocked to the side in an almost challenging sort of look. The look on his face suggested, more then anything else, a kind of curiosity with what Zack had said though.

" Just a feeling." Zack answered him unclearly, reaching into his pocket for his cigerettes only to remember for the second time that Cara had tossed the pack over the side of the boat. " Behave yourselves. Good night."

" Night, Chief." Was the reply from the other side before the video screen went blank. Connell minimized the screen and then shut the laptop, sliding it under his bed. Zack, however, stopped him part way from doing this.

" That goes under my bed." he said, firmly, pulling the laptop under his bed and slipping the bed covers over the side to hide the thing. " If we get caught, I'll be the one taking the blame, not you." Connell, however, shook his head.

" What'll the rest of the team do if you get dragged away somewhere in all of this for that illegal laptop in our room?" he asked him. " I'll take it. It's smarter to do things that way and you know it, Chief." Stubbornly, he reached and grabbed the laptop, slipping it under his bed for the second time. Zack looked about to protest, but Connell waved him to be silent.

" I know what you're trying to do." He placed at hand on Zack's shoulder, giving a smile at him. " You can't protect me from everything, Chief, and you know it. If something happens the team will need you to lead them. I can't do that like you can." Zack's face had flushed, and his gray eyes avoided Connell's blue ones. " Besides, what would Luke and Cara do without you?" That had hit the nail right on the head, preventing Zack from arguing with Connell anymore.

Connell smiled at him. " It's best this way."

Zack was frowning, unsatisfied with this, but said nothing. " Let's get some sleep." he said after a long silence had passed between the two of them. " We're going to be having a long first day."

To that, Connell agreed, pulling out some night clothes from his suite case and slipping out of his work clothes. Zack, still in pants and a button down shirt, just climbed right into bed. Turning over to face the wall, it was quiet as Connell continued to change his clothes. Once he'd finished he threw them to the side.

" You can be so stubborn sometimes, Chief. Although, you will always yield to logic, won't you?" he stood, waiting for some sort of reply for a long time. Walking over to the bed, he leaned over to get a look at his boss' face. Snorting, he giggled behind his hand, trying his best to hold back his louder laughter. Five seconds had passed, and Zack DeRoy had already dropped off into sleep. ~~

Yawning, Zack glanced around the dinning hall lazily. Where to begin? He couldn't decide. He'd gotten up before Connell, amazingly, and decided to get ready on his own. Remembering the way Lenalee had showed them the following day, he made his way there to try and find some food. Besides, his stomach was aching for food after that long trip the night before. So, here he was, at a loss for what he was supposed to be doing, but figuring it out. Quickly, he placed an order with the person behind the counter. Now, person is there because Zack couldn't quite decide if the person in question was male of female.

" Well, I've never seen you before." he/she had commented when Zack had taken his order. " Are you new here?" Zack held back his sarcastic reply to give a civilized answer.

" Yeah, something like that." he replied, making sure to keep his answers vague to keep things about himself hidden. He/She tilted his/her head at Zack, confused by his choice of words but didn't argue with him about it.

" Well, welcome to the Order." he/she said, smiling. Blinking at he/she, Zack gave a shrug and a grunt in reply to this strange person.

" Thanks." he said, avoiding eye contact with the person.

" Careful not to get lost too." he/she advised Zack. " It's very easy to get lost here, it's so big." to that Zack gave a nod, still avoiding eye contact with this person. It was way too early . . .

After getting his food, Zack found an empty table along one of the walls, sitting at the end, just trying to avoid attention. For all of his life, anyone who had know Zack would tell you that he seemed like a classic loner. The guy that sat in the back of the room in a class and kept to himself. Smart, but just so intimidating that it was hard to approach him in any way. That was Zack. Unfortunately, this meant he drew the oddest of people.

Nibbling his food, he gave another yawn, lazily glancing around the room. Already, the dinning hall was a mess of people, mostly Finders, or at least, that's what Zack assumed the people in white were. He'd heard the word used in conversation as he walked along, and gradually found out what it meant by listening in on conversations. Rubbing his eyes, Zack yawned for the third time, feeling his appetite kick in then.

He began to eat more vigorously, though it still lacked the energy of someone who was actually awake rather then sleeping on his feet. Damn . . . mornings . . .

" Hhhheeellllllloooooo?" the sudden new voice jolted Zack out of his trance and his eyes shot up to see who was talking to him. It was a guy, a few years younger then Zack by his first glance. Red hair up in the air, a thick headband with a scale design on it kept the boy's hair in place. There was an eye patch on his right eye, the left eye a deep, leaf green color as he looked at Zack with an intense curiosity.

" Eh?" was all Zack could spit out of his mouth at this point. He hadn't expected anything like this and his half wakeful brain wasn't processing things very clearly right now. The boy gave a big grin, a smile that reminded Zack of Connell's contagious grin. He sat down across the table from Zack, very leisurely and laughed a little.

" Not much of a morning person, are you?" the boy asked him, grinning at Zack.

" Nah!" Zack glanced up at the sound of a familiar voice, and Connell smiled down at his boss, walking and sitting down next to Zack's free side. " He's just got low blood pressure." Glaring at Connell, Zack took to eating more of his food now rather then say anything in reply to this comment. " You're up pretty early today though, Chief. Before me, even." Connell sounded impressed by this fact and Zack scowled at him.

" I probably haven't adjusted to the changes here. Tomorrow I'll be sleeping in much later, I assure you of that." Zack answered this time getting Connell laughing as he started to eat at his own meal.

" I'll hold you to that." Connell said,then added. " When do you plan on telling me who your new friend is?" Zack kept on eating, avoiding talking purposefully at this point. Fortunately, the boy was willing to fill in the answer to Connell's question.

" Well, I haven't exactly introduced myself yet." he grinned, scratching his red head, bashfully. " Although, it doesn't seem like your friend likes me very much." He directed this question at Connell, who looked over at Zack, slyness on his face. Zack only kept eating, glaring at Connell while he chewed generously now.

" Really?" his tone suggested a bit of curiosity, and a bit of amusement. Zack found that his food was disappearing far to quickly for him to stay out of the conversation. Connell smiled and waved at the boy, carelessly. " Don't mind him. He's like that with everybody." They laughed, as if this was the most normal of circumstances.

This would be why Zack brought Connell along. Zack felt socially inept, but Connell was so casual about all of this he made up for any of Zack's awkwardness.

" Yeah, I know somebody like that too." he giggled. " Anyways, I'm Lavi." Zack took note that Lavi only gave his first name. Was that purposeful?

" I'm James Connell. Most people just call me Connell." he gestured to his boss. " This is my friend, Zack DeRoy. Call him Zack, I think he prefers that." Zack cocked an eyebrow at Connell, who only shrugged and grinned at his boss for now.

" You think?" Lavi inquired.

" I'm not sure. It's hard to tell some days." Connell replied. Zack would've scolded Connell any other day for introducing him like that, but now he couldn't. It was better that people here thought that Connell and he were friends rather then boss and employee. That would just make things easier for the two of them, at least for the time being, and Connell could work his magic better if there was a more casual mood.

" So, you're both new here, right?" Lavi prompted, thoughtfully, still smiling like a little kid. Connell nodded, Zack taking a sip of his drink and listening in on their conversation.

" Yep. Although, I don't think we realized what we were getting ourselves into." Connell gave a soft laugh, glancing at Zack. Zack knew Connell's act when he saw it, and that was what was going on now. Connell always loved it, when he got into this working "zone" of his, but sometimes it really gave Zack the creeps.

" Well, the Order's not a bad place. Despite what people outside these walls say, we really are doing good for the world." Lavi was saying, trying to give encouragement to them both. Zack turned his head curiously to the side, and Connell took on the look of someone who was very befuddled.

" The rest of the world is really scared of this place." he commented, thoughtfully, as if this was just a passing thought rather then a pressing matter. " There were some rather ugly rumors I've heard, but I don't believe them. I dare not repeat them either." he shook his head.

" You came despite hearing all these rumors?" Lavi asked, interested in them as much as they were interested in him, really. Connell gave a laugh at this, resting his head in his hand and nodding.

" I choose not to believe the rumors I hear. Besides, Zack here insisted." Connell passed the reason off onto Zack. Damn-that-bastard-Connell. Zack would throttle him here and now if he didn't have the self control that he did.

" Well, you know," Zack said, setting his cup down a moment, " Connell just couldn't come here alone, so I had to come along with him or he wouldn't let me hear the end of it." Zack gave a little smirk and a sadistic chuckle as Connell's face darkened to an annoyed look.

That would subdue any revenge Zack needed against Connell for the time being.

" Way to be a jerk, man!" Connell accused him, upset. All apart of his act, Zack just averted his eyes to another side of the room as Connell started spouting nonsense at him for a few moments until another person made his way towards the table.

This one had white hair, which made Zack think that he was an old man at first glance. On a closer look, however, he noticed that the boy was actually very young, younger then Lavi by the looks of him. One of his eyes had a strange sort of mark on it that Zack had never seen before in his life.

" Lavi!" the boy called, coming up the the older teenager. Lavi gave a brief wave at him. " What are you doing over here?" he asked, just noticing Connell and Zack who were seated across from Lavi still. The three of them stared kind of blankly at each other for a long while. It was very . . . odd was the best word Zack could come up with for it.

" I saw these guys eating here all by themselves, so I thought I'd come by and introduce myself." Lavi explained to the younger teen, who gave a lost look at Lavi for a moment before finally nodding to him. The white haired boy looked them over curiously, turning his head to the side as he looked at them both.

" You said something about feeling like an alien yesterday, right?" Zack murmured lowly to Connell, who cracked a grin at his boss' question.

" Yes, yes I did." he replied. This definitely made Zack feel like he was some being from outside the planet, the way this kid was looking at him like that.

" I haven't seen either of you before." he said after a bit of observing. " Are you new here?" Connell bite back his laughter. He would've burst out laughing like a mad man had Zack not given him a sobering glare for good measure.

" They are new." Lavi was laughing at the other boy, proceeding to introduce Connell and Zack to him. " - Connell, Zack, this is Allen Walker." he said.

That name stuck! Allen. Komui had said it yesterday, Zack remembered.~~~~

Well, there you go! Hope you enjoyed this lovely new chapter. Send your reviews my way! Tell me what you're thinking!XD


	14. Case Fourteen: Allen Walker

Here's another chapter for you kiddies! Enjoy!~~~~

Allen stood behind Lavi while they both talked to Connell. However, Allen couldn't shake the uneasy tingling that kept shooting up his spine. There was no wondering what was causing this sensation, though. Well, he was staring Allen in the face. Literally. Zack was watching him, but not just watching him. It was more like he was examining Allen with those storm cloud colored eyes. What made it all very unnerving was that Zack's eyes never left Allen. Sure, Allen didn't look like an average teen with his white hair and scar on his left eye, but nobody stared at him the way that this man was. It was like he was staring straight into Allen, unsettling him, even sending a tiny chill up his spine. What made that chill was his eyes, Allen was well aware of that. The way his eyes seemed almost all knowing about all of this.

Or at least knowing more then should be possible by sight alone.

" Is something wrong, Allen?" Lavi asked, noticing that Allen seemed pretty distracted. Allen glanced over at Lavi, blinking innocently for a moment then shook his head. Connell had already realized what the problem was, however.

" You'll have to excuse Zack here, he's not so much of talker as I am." Connell said, giving as disarming a smile as he could manage so Allen would feel a bit more at ease with the two of them.

" If we were all talkers like you, then there would never be any silence in the world." Zack retorted, glaring over at Connell. All Connell did in reply was laugh and scratch the back of his head bashfully. " I'm heading back to the room." Connell smiled while Zack got to his feet.

" Of course. I'll be there in a little while." he answered, Zack giving a nod that meant that he heard what Connell said and was off to the room once again. The three of them watched as Zack rounded a corner and was out of sight.

" He's quite the charmer." Lavi commented turning back to Connell who gave a laugh and kept on grinning.

" By charmer, I, of course, assume you mean completely impossible to approach in any way without being put off by his attitude?" Connell asked, cheerfully.

" Exactly." Allen agreed with a shiver.

" How did a guy like you meet a guy like that?" Connell laughed at the way Lavi asked the question as if it was something unheard of. Taking a sip of his drink, Connell rested his cheek on his hand.

" It's a rather interesting story, really. I'd just got started at my new job after getting out of school. It wasn't so long ago as it might sound like right now. Anyways, they were putting this new team together, a sort of experiment for the department, really." he waved his hand dismissively of this fact. " There idea was to put together a group of people that were all young and had no prior background in the field. No senior worker to help out or discourage the young ones, since we were all young. Basically, they took a hand full of fresh graduates out of school and force them to work together." he laughed at the looks they gave him. " I suppose it sounds like a rather dumb idea, doesn't it?"

" Well, yeah," Allen said, though seemed very curious about all of what Connell was saying, " wouldn't it be better to have someone experienced to help the younger members deal with the demands of the job? Setting up a team like that in the military would be suicide."

" That's very true." Connell agreed, holding up his drink again. " Good thing it wasn't the military or I would be dead." he joked on, though it got no laughs from Lavi or Allen. " They had their reason's for making the team, however. Zack would be that reason."

" Really?" Lavi put in, sounding almost younger then Allen in curiousity. Connell nodded.

" He's what we call a 'semi-genius'. Two years younger then me and he graduated the same year as me in college, though we didn't go to school at the same place. Anyways, he was made head of the team. To say we had a rocky start to everything would be an understatement." Connell sort of laughed at this, remembering the multitude of problems that had started when they had all come together. Thinking about it now made it sound so funny. " It was rather unfortunate for all of us to find out later that it was all just to test Zack from the start. Bastards that they are, but that's how it goes, doesn't it?" he asked, getting odd looks from both Lavi and Allen.

Giving a sigh, Connell rested his head in his hand again, thinking." Anyways, that's how it all began with us. Been friends ever since." ~~

Instead of heading into his own room, Zack tapped lightly on the door one to the side of it. Pressing his ear to the door, he listened for the sounds of movement from the inside only to fall flat on his face when the door opened with him still pressed up against it. Laughing, Luke got an annoyed look from the floor where Zack lay across it. Luke held his sides, dressed in his usual suit and tie, though it was clear he hadn't been up for long because his hair was still a mess.

" Well, good morning." he kept on laughing, holding out his hand for Zack to help him off the floor. Zack took it, grumbling nonsense to himself for a few moments, reaching into his pocket only to recall, not for the first time, no cigarettes where present. Luke smiled at him. " Feeling well enough today?" Luke inquired, Zack shoving his hands into his pockets, opting to chew on a straw he'd picked up in the dinning hall earlier.

" Tired, actually." Zack replied with a laugh from Luke now.

" Of course. You've never been much for mornings." Luke commented, getting a grunt as his only answer to this comment. Just then, Cara came running up to them both, looking happy as could be with that big smile in her face.

" Ah! Zack!" she exclaimed, heading over to him with a bounce to her step. " Good morning!" kneeling down, Zack grabbed her up into a hug, picking her right off the floor.

" Good morning, little one." he greeted, setting her back down on her feet. " How are you doing this morning?" she gave her sweet smile before saying anything.

" Good!" she insisted, smoothing her play dress so that it was unwrinkled.

" What brings you to our lovely living space this morning, sir?" Luke bowed, starting to joke around with his friend. Zack broke a smile at him.

" Thought you would both like some breakfast." he mentioned getting an excited squeal from Cara. The two men laughed to each other at her excitement for food.

" I don't suppose you remember the way there, do you, Zack?" Luke inquired, shyly. Zack held out his arms and bowed to them both, humbly.

" That's why I'm here." he insisted, and once Luke and Cara were ready to go, they set out with Zack leading the way to the dinning hall for them both. Cara held onto Luke's hand all the while, looking around very excitedly. Zack had to hand it to her. Kids could deal with weird looks better then adults could. He was already self-conscious of the way that the people here stared at her like some sort of alien. Cara took no notice at all.

" I think Uncle James is talking to some people that you could play with, Cara." he mentioned to her. The excitement on her face came out instantly. Into the dinning room they went, and Zack led them over to where Connell was still eating his food, sitting with about twice as many people as Zack remembered leaving him with some minutes earlier.

" Zack!" Connell exclaimed, seeing him approach with Cara and Luke. " I didn't expect you to be back so soon!" Zack placed a hand on his hip, playing with the toothpick in his mouth.

" Change of plan, my friend." he insisted, snickering at Connell. It wasn't for any reason. Some days Zack just felt like creeping the ba-jesus out of the people around him. Zack made quick observation of the people at the table with Connell. Allen, Lavi, Lenalee, a man who was in his elderly years, a man in his about 40's maybe with dark hair, and a haggard looking woman in her late 30's. " I see you're quick to make friends." Connell grinned.

" But of course!" Connell insisted, beginning to introduce them all. " Zack, this is Bookman, Krory, and Miranda" he pointed to each one as he said their names. Bookman gave Zack a brief nod, while Krory and Miranda only gave shy greetings. " Oh! And everyone, with my friends Zack here, this is Luke Darrow and this lovely little child is Miss. Cara!" Luke gave a friendly smile, seeming almost comfortable with the way he was introduced to everyone.

" Hello." he greeted, and Cara bounced up and down, eager to see everyone. Her eyes glowed as she caught sight of Lenalee and Lavi.

" I met you both yesterday!" she exclaimed, excitied going up to Lavi on one side of the table while pointing at Lenalee. Lavi gave a laugh, plopping his hand down on her head and messing up her hair by rubbing her head.

" Hey! That little squirt from yesterday!" he exclaimed now, getting his hand whacked away by Cara as she pouted and began to put her hair back into it's proper place. Lavi received an incredulous look from the Bookman a ways down the table, his laughing becoming nervous and shaky at this point. Cara giggled at this change in his laughter, glancing at Zack in question. Without saying anything, Zack pointed to Allen and Cara nodded her understanding, placing herself between Allen and Lavi now.

" Hey! Hey!" Cara said to Allen, who gave a curious glance over at her as she stood up on the bench they were all seated on. Her hands grabbed onto his white hair as she looked at it with great interest. " I like your hair!" Silence followed this.

" Eh?"

" It's white, like snow." she said, like this somehow answered the reason for what she had said before that. She separated out three strands of Allen's hair and began to braid it together while Lavi glanced at her.

" You like snow, squirt?" he inquired and she grinned at him over her shoulder.

" Yeah! Even if it is really cold." she replied to him, still braiding his hair in her little child like way. Luke gave a laugh, ruffling Cara's hair gently, just the way he knew she liked it when he patted her head.

" I'll get you something. What would you like?"

" Ice cream!" she exclaimed, getting lots of laughs from everyone

" Breakfast item, Cara. Pick a breakfast item." Luke insisted to her now, and she took a minute to think about it.

" Pancakes!" she said and with a laugh and a nod, Luke was off to get the food for the two of them, Zack walking with him. They talked about nothing in particular, just sort of being together for no real reason. Luke gave a good laugh while Zack looked a bit annoyed with his teasing as they went away, the group at the table watching them leave.

" Those two are an interesting pair." commented Lavi to no one in particular. Cara gave a brief giggle to him in reply, still braiding Allen's short hair, though she was running out of hair to work with by now.

" You should see them at home." Cara replied with a smile at everyone. " They have these funny little arguments about the silliest stuff. Luke still insists that he has no idea how I get fed everyday with the way they both are with cooking." she tossed her hair, pulling out some more of Allen's hair to start another braid. Allen tried to see what she was doing, but she blocked it from him. " Not until I'm done!" she insisted and he complied despite some discomfort.

" Look at this. She's already got you doing everything she says!" Lavi teased, Allen's face turning colors slightly at this as he protested.

" LAVI-!"

" Allen! Don't move, you'll knock her off the bench!" Lenalee said, but too late. Cara's foot had already slipped out from under her. Down she fell, right on her butt. Allen freaked out, apologizing like crazy to her while the others sort of teased and glared at him for knocking over the poor girl. Cara, however, gave a brief laugh while pushing herself up onto her feet again, climbing right back on the bench and getting to braiding Allen's hair.

" It's okay." she waved away his apology easily, like she hadn't even fallen at all.

On she went, talking with them more. In all of this, it was strange to the exorcists that they were having a very adult conversation with such a young girl like Cara. When she spoke, however, the subjects of what she talked about had an adult sort of manner, though the words were said in a childish tone. Her smile was absolutely contagious too. Not even Bookman could keep a smile off his face when she sent a grin his way. Lavi pointed this out in shock and earned himself a kick to the head from the master book keeper, which got everyone laughing, Cara included.

" You should follow Cara's example," Bookman finished, scowling at Lavi about what he'd said before to him," she's more mature then you are!" there was more laughing.

" My, Cara," Luke and Zack returned then, a smile plastered onto Luke's face while Zack looked at the ground, holding one tray while Luke held the other, " you seem to be getting along just fine without us here." He turned to speak to Zack."See that? We're gone for less then five minutes and suddenly everyone wants her for themselves!" he laughed, and Zack broke to a smile not small chuckle of agreement.

" Just can't leave her alone, can we?" he murmured with a genuine smile. Cara smiled right up at him, her eyes showing more to these two young men then the looks she gave to any of the others around. There was more of a sparkle to her eyes now.

" Nope you can't." she giggled in reply. Leaning down, Luke stretched out his arm to give her a single arm hug.

" Here you go, Cara." Luke said, handing her a plate, getting his own from Zack before going to sit next to Krory and Miranda at the other end of the table where there was empty space still open for him. Zack stood beside the table, preferring to stick close to Cara for the time being. That and he wanted to be close by Connell to hear what Connell was getting these people to say.

" Allen, you're sort of like Cara." Lavi commented, and the white haired exorcist gave him a look that told him that he didn't understand what Lavi meant by that. " You're way more mature then 15." Connell seemed instantly curious with that fact.

" Allen, you're only 15?" he asked, genuinely curious about this.

That had Zack's full attention. When Zack had taken a closer look at Allen earlier he'd thought that Allen was quite young, but not that young though. By his best guess he put Allen at around 18 and Lavi around 19. Allen gave a nod as an answer rather then saying anything with his mouth full like it was. Zack clicked his teeth together to keep his jaw from dropping. Connell's face showed surprise and he glanced at Zack who kept a stoic face. His employee read between the lines of that face.

" Then I've got to agree with Lavi on this one." Connell stated with a smile. " You had me thinking that you were at least 17 years old to be totally honest." Face turned colors, most everyone laughed. Allen peeked over at Zack again. The way that the man had been looking at him earlier still made his skin prickle and he was remembering what Connell had said to Lavi and himself earlier. This man . . . a semi-genius, huh . . .?

" Then how old do you think I am?" Cara prompted now, looking around at those around herself. She was curious to find out what they were thinking, a nature that had been fostered from Zack, no doubt.

" Well, I already know how old you are, so it's pointless to ask me." Connell giggled and Cara scowled at him, mad that he would even suggest such a thing as this to her.

" I know that!" she snapped at him. " It's not like I was asking you, I was asking everybody who doesn't already know that!" BANG! Connell had been shot down by a girl a forth of his size and weight. Zack couldn't keep the smirk off of his face. It was just too much, there was no way he could NOT have broken a smile at that! Cara had been picking up on more of Luke and Zack's habits and natures then Zack had realized.

" Well? What do you all think?" Cara insisted, earnestly.

" Hmmm . . . 12 years old, maybe?" Lavi inquired, getting a shaking head from Allen.

" She has to be at least 13." he said to Cara and she shook her head in reply.

" She can't be that old yet. She was fluttering around like a butterfly yesterday and she was just braiding Allen's hair a little bit ago." Lenalee insisted, Allen's twisted bits of hair proof of that. " 11 years old is my guess." Krory and Miranda couldn't really think of guesses, opting not to participate at all, while Bookman agreed with Lavi on the age of 12.

Connell, Luke, and Zack all had to hold back their laughs which was hard for the three of them. So much so, Connell almost busted up laughing and had to turn away shaking horribly to keep the exorcists from seeing his huge grin. Luke kept away the huge smile by eating his way through it with large pieces of food, and Zack had a more natural ability then Connell to hold back his emotions. Although, his smiling had almost given away everything before the proper time. The exorcists had looked at each other uneasily when Zack had smiled and Connell had turned away.

Cara was the one showing the greatest amount of self control on this occasion. All she did was give a smile and nod to their guesses without giving away any sort of answer to them.

" Drum roll please!" she exclaimed, pointing at Connell, who started to tap out a "drum roll" with his fingers against the edge of the table. " And the answer is . . .!" she let the answer hang, adding to the drama purposefully to get the most humor out of it as she could. " 8!"

Jaws dropped, eyes widened, and for three men, laughter roared out of their mouths like animals that had just been set free from captivity. Connell was so bad that he had his head flat on the table, bounding his fist a few times against it. Luke was leaning back, his head thrown back with his laughing. Zack, meanwhile, was curled forwards, holding his sides, laughing in a way none of these people had expected from him when they'd first seen him. Cara was laughing too, just as much as the three men she was in the Black Order with.

It was strange to laugh like this for Zack. Really he tried to keep himself composed as much as possible. There was a lot riding on him, so he had to be as professional as possible. Being so young and already leading a team earned Zack the prime bullying target for the older investigators who had been biting their time to get to the top. Then, it hadn't been anything new to Zack even when he'd first started on the job.

Laughing like this, like somehow the world didn't matter for crap and all there was or could be was a smile and laughter lighter then air . . . it was a feeling that Zack couldn't get enough of. Looking up at him, Cara grabbed his hand once it had finally fallen from his side. Zack's eyes met her bright blue ones and they looked each other in the eyes for a long few moments with smiles on their faces. Then Cara's smile grew and she squeezed his hand with her own small hands. He gave a shy smile right back, and gave her a hug from behind.

What a change he'd gone through in so short at time. Even thinking of it now, the idea made Zack's head spin. What a change . . .~~~~

There we go. All done. I don't have much to say right now so . . .yeah . . . read, review, enjoy!


	15. Case Fifteen: To Work

YAY! Next chapter! Don't have much to say this time either, just that I hope you're all enjoying the story. ~~~~~

Soon, however, Zack was back to work and Connell was right there with him every step of the way. Just as it had always been since the start of his team. Back in the room, they shut the door, careful to have it completely shut and even have it locked up to be sure that no one would come in unexpectedly.

Then and only then, did they bring the laptop back out of hiding. Connell got right to work, booting up the system and setting up the windows. Then they waited, Connell typing something out for a time while Zack took to chewing on a straw. What he wouldn't give for a cigarette right now, of all times.

" It's all part of the quitting process," Connell had laughed when his boss had grabbed the straw back in the dinning hall, " with your profession, I wouldn't think that would be hard for you to figure out."

Zack glared at Connell as the older man typed away at the keys like some sort of machine himself. He was almost positive that Connell was laughing at him on some level in that head of his, and Zack didn't approve of that. Not at all. So he took to looking at the plain walls around the room with annoyance.

" We really need to put something on these walls." Zack commented, frowning at the bareness of the room as a whole. Connell chuckled, still typing away at the keys.

" Once we start getting further into the case, you'll want to put case information on the walls, Zack. Leave it alone until then." Connell told him, and Zack glanced over at him. He spent a few moments just looking at Connell, who had a smile still on his face.

" You really do spend too much time around me." he said, finally.

" Well, you're not that hard to figure out, Chief." that comment was from a female voice that came out of the computer screen. Zack strode to join Connell in front of the computer screen just as Connell was bringing up the live feed. There stood Smith, Kennedy, and Zagar, clear as day.

" Mornin' Chief." Zagar said with a wave at Zack. " Not killing each other over there are you?" there were laughs at this, and Connell shook his head.

" No."

" Not yet." Zack interjected, getting more laughs. " If this lump tries passing off information like that to me again you might find him tied up on some high way without a penny to his name." Connell gave a sheepish laugh at this.

" Connell, you're an idiot." Smith said, blandly.

" Well, I couldn't think of anything! I thought the Chief might have had something in mind!" he protested, only getting four heads shaking at him at one time.

" What sort of reason do you have then?" Zagar asked out of curiosity, and Connell went right into laughing away while Zack just shook his head and looked away. " Yikes, that bad, Chief?"

" I don't even think we gave a reason." Connell told him, still giggling at the time, while he glanced up at Zack now. " I said you insisted we do this, and you said I wouldn't let you hear the end of it if you made me go alone."

" Where's the reason in any of that?" Smith added, only getting Connell laughing like crazy again. Always easy to laugh, that's what made Connell a people person. His laugh was an uncanny thing.

" There is none." Zack replied, bluntly back and everyone laughed while he gave a sigh. " We're sending a list of names to you now. Kennedy, I want you to work your magic and use these sources of yours to find out anything you can about any of these people. I don't care if it's as pointless as they ate swish cheese three years ago, just tell me something when I ask you next time." Kennedy gave a nod and a thumbs up.

" I'll get on that right away, Chief." she replied.

" Smith, forensics. Now." Zack continued and Smith gave a nod at him. That's all the confirmation that Zack needed from that quiet man. Smith was able to handle himself well.

" Zagar, since you've finished with what you needed to do for the most part, assist those two in the best way you can. Make this thing run as smoothly as it can. Mostly you'll be running around for Smith, but make sure Kennedy doesn't over do it." There was mild laughter.

" Yeah, we all remember what happened last time." Zagar chuckled, and Kennedy was giving him an annoyed glare with her face flushed dark pink. " Will do, Chief."

" We're going to help as best we can from this end." Zack told them. " We'll meet at about 2pm and then again at 7pm. We all clear? Kennedy, you may hear from us at anytime depending if we have more information for you. Keep aware and don't ignore your email for god's sake!" Kennedy gave an embarrassed laugh and nodded.

" I'm on it, Chief."

" Okay, get working." Zack said and the live feed went blank and Connell shut the laptop and slid it into hiding again.

" So, where do we begin?" Connell asked him, and Zack gave a smirk at him.

" The beginning, obviously, Connell." Zack answered him, and heading for the door with Connell laughing along behind him.~~

There first "target" of sorts was Komui. Being someone of power, Komui was their best bet at actually identifying the victim they had. That and Zack recalled that Komui had said something about meeting with exorcists being part of his job. If he spent time interacting with them, he would be the best choice for identifying their victim.

The problem they had was finding him. Well, it was only their second day here, how should they know where the man worked on an average day? For awhile they spent some time exploring the hallways, searching the ones that Zack recalled Lenalee showing them the day before. Soon this seemed a futile way to work, and they found a place to take a break for a bit.

They got really lucky then. Lavi and Bookman came walking past them at that moment.

Perfect! People they could ask directions from without getting the looks so many of the other people around gave them. It was like they were disgusted that Zack and Connell were even there at all. None asked what their purpose was. They just seemed to assume it was something bad and wanted both the investigators out as soon as possible.

" Komui?" Lavi asked, curious as to what they needed from the Chief of the Science Department here. " Why do you need to see him?" Connell gave that charming smile that always won over every person he talked to. Zack always left these sorts of person related things to Connell because he was much better with people then Zack was.

" We just wanted to ask him a couple of questions is all." he replied. Yep, that smile was always convincing. Lavi and Bookman bought it right away and showed them the way to Komui. What a clever bastard that Connell was. That act of his that he played as his normal self got Zack unnerved about the fact that Connell could act like that on command.

" Do you ever think some days you should've taken up acting instead of joined the police department?" Zack asked once Lavi and Bookman where out of earshot and they stood in front of the door where Komui was most likely at right now. Connell grinned at Zack, chuckling to his boss.

" Sometimes. Maybe someday I'll give acting a try," he considered thoughtfully then gave a shrug," until then, I'll stick with you, Zack." the smile on his face brought a frown to Zack's face. Connell was enjoying being able to call his boss by his first name all the time. For Zack, he thought his name sounded strange flowing off that mocking tongue that Connell had. Either way, he brushed off the word and pushed open the door.

The room was packed with people. Hustling, climbing, working at desks, the place was, not surprisingly, loud with all of the activity going on all at once. What seemed particularly, well, interesting was the word Zack would use, was the state of all these people. By the rings under the majority of the eyes of those in this room, sleep was not a pleasure they were allowed to enjoy very often. Zack took note of at least a handful of people sleeping in their chairs, slumped over some work. Not to mention there were others nodding off and jolting awake once their heads finally sank too close to their tables.

They were all scientists, or that was Zack's guess considering they all had on lab coats for the most part. Some labor union somewhere was crying out for these men, Zack was sure . . .

Only thing that this place had more of then gaunt,sleep deprived scientists was paper. Documents and documents, all over the place. By all over the place, Zack meant ALL over the place. On tables, chairs, selves, scattered on the floor,huge towering spires of white pages endlessly put into this or that place. Working mainly within the city boundaries, Zack and Connell found themselves feeling strangely at home in the cramped environment with many tall sky scrapers towering over their heads in this room.

One man walking by spotted them and walked right up to them.

" Hey! You two!" he barked at the two investigators, sharply. " What are you doing standing around for?" Well, Zack had never been approached like this in a long time. That was a surprise. Then again, the place was so busy, this haggard looking man probably just didn't want anything to interfere with work at this point.

" We were looking for Komui." Zack told him. " We were told that we might find him here." The man walked up to the two of them, holding a large stack of papers in his arms, his tired eyes having particularly dark rings under his eyes compared to most of the others.

His eyes glared into Zack's stormy ones as he came face to face with the investigator. This man was a bit taller then Zack and a bit older, but Zack didn't let that sort of thing get to him. That would be childish.

" If that man was here, I'd be riding his ass to get his work done as we speak." he told Zack very simply. Zack grew a smile. Whoever this was, Zack rather liked him.

" Then I suppose he's goofing off?" Zack inquired of this man.

" Probably." was the answer he got. Reaching out, Zack grabbed a large amount of the papers from the top of the stack that the man was carrying in his arms. Surprisingly, it was heavier then Zack would've thought paper could be even in large amounts.

" Then I suppose I've got nothing better to do then wait for him to come back." Zack said to him, jerking his head at Connell to start to help too. " I have to talk to him and I don't know my way around this damn place. Instead of two moving targets moving around each other, Komui will be the moving target that finds us." Connell took what was left of the stack that the man was carrying and followed after Zack.

" That makes sense to me, Zack." Connell said, coming up beside Zack who gave a nod at him. Smart boy, Connell was. Always catching on to what Zack was doing so quickly was a talent that Zack was glad Connell had. The man just kind of stood in that spot, seeming like he was almost in shock of what the two of them had done for him. Glancing back, Zack met the man's eyes again.

" Hey! Where are we taking all of this?" he gestured to the papers in his arms, talking partly over his shoulders as he went. Blinking, the man pointed them in the right direction and they got further direction as they went until they finally found the impossible for this room.

Empty space on a self. It was all organized, clean and neat as could be. That seemed a miracle in this mad house to Zack, but he shifted the papers into alignment and slid them into place, doing the same with the ones Connell gave him. Off they went from there. Re-finding the same man over again, he directed them in the way they could best help at the time. They got strange looks from the majority of the scientists that saw them walking around the place, but none argued with the help that they were getting. Lord knew, they needed all the help they could get in this place.

It didn't take long for a few of them to become friendly with the investigators.

Johnny was one of them. He had glasses and took a liking to Zack for some reason. Not that Zack would object to that, he was fine with it as long as it didn't get in the way of his work. The nerdy Johnny made for a good partner to Zack and they got to talking about some major science stuff that Zack absolutely loved. Zack was a major science geek, and tried to get into the forensic labs when Smith was working as often as he could manage just to help out in some way because he enjoyed that sort of thing.

Eventually the science section had warmed to the investigators. It only took a couple of long hours hauling papers to where ever they were needed at any given time. Zack began to notice his arms were very tight and that the people in this department had well defined forearms. Maybe he should start working more on his arms when he worked out . . .

" I'm Reever, the Section Leader, by the way." Zack finally got the name of the man who he had taken a liking to earlier. " Sorry about earlier." Reever scratched his head, sheepishly, laughing a little bit about it.

" Not at all," Zack replied, waving away the apology easily," I thought paperwork where I came from was bad. This is my worst nightmare brought to life." he chuckled too. For some reason Zack found friends in the strangest of places. Connell had once seen him having the most pleasant conversation he'd ever heard with a coroner who was working on a body at the time. The image was permanently painted into Connell's retinas.

Not long after that, Komui reappeared. How did Zack and Connell find out? They heard Reever shouting about it half way across the science section. Zack glanced at Connell at the time and sort of laughed, setting the papers where they needed before heading back.

By the time that the two had returned, Komui was giggling in the way of a mischievous child would after getting away with a prank and Reever was rubbing his temples looking like he needed to find the nearest man with aspirin. Zack didn't doubt that everyone in this science department had aspirin on hand everyday.

" Oh! Well hello!" Komui waved, seeing Zack and Connell coming up to Reever and himself. " You've been put to work, I see." he commented and Connell gave a grin at him.

" We keep ourselves busy." was his reply to Komui.

" We need to talk to you." Zack interjected, not wanting to get anymore side tracked then they already had at this point. Komui looked at him curiously, as if he expected Zack to just spit it out right then and there to get on with it. " In private." Zack told him. Recognition filled Komui's eyes, and he gave a nod at this making a gesture to a side room not far away from where they were.

" Let's talk in my office, then." he suggested, allowing Connell and Zack to lead the way while he followed behind them, gleefully. Inside, Komui's office looked just like the larger room outside. Papers stacked like sky scrapers all over the place with only small paths that could be used to navigate through the mess. Somehow, they were able to find a desk and chairs in all of this so that they could talk.

" So, what can I help you with?" Komui inquired of them, taking on a business like appearance at his cluttered desk. Zack glanced at Connell who looked back at him. There was a short silence.

" We have a few things we need to confirm to be able to move our case any further." Zack began, while Connell pulled a small envelop out of his coat pocket. It was a golden color with a clasp at the top.

" The photos we have here," Connell indicated the envelop, " have a bit of graphic content-" Zack cleared his throat loudly then, catching Connell's attention. He didn't even need to say anything. The glare told Connell everything he needed. "- No, allow me to rephrase that. The photos contain graphic content. We need you to confirm the victim for us, so you'll have to bare with it for the time being." Komui gave a nod of understanding.

" I'll do what I can to help." he answered with a firm nod. Connell glanced at Zack again, who gave a single nod of his head. Moving the metal pieces to the side, Connell flipped open the envelop. Looking inside, he carefully selected one of the photos. Just one, and Connell handed to photo to Komui. There was a silence.

Zack took to reading his expression then. Komui seemed calm, but there was a certain degree of dispair in the twist of his brows and a vague emotion that Zack guessed might be horror.

" Yes, I know her." Komui answered, handing the photo back to Connell.

" You need to tell us as much about her as you can." Connell told him, and Komui gave a nod to them,seeming some what concerned.

" Yes, of course." Komui agreed, his attention drifting off for a period of time while they waited for him. Connell could understand the unusual nature of the situation for Komui. After all, hearing about murder and seeing it where two very different things, not to be cliche.

" You might start with telling us her name." Zack prompted, gently of Komui. The scientist's attention shifted back to the present and he nodded to Zack then.

" Cecilea. Cecilea Rowin." that was how the conversation began. The awkward, tell all conversation about the one who'd died. It was all so normal to Zack and Connell, the awkward part of it, however, didn't change. The only thing that changed for them was that they got used to the awkwardness.

Komui went on and on for them. His attention to some details seemed almost unnatural to Zack, but he wasn't going to argue with that sort of luck. It made for a stronger case for Zack and his team, after all. It started with her name and some general things, then broke down to things like when he'd first encountered her, what she seemed like, did she date, they covered as much ground as Komui could give them.  
Once it was all said and done was when Komui got to start asking the questions.

" What do you think this was?" Komui had said to Zack. There was something about Zack's presence that drew people to ask serious questions like this to him rather then at the more friendly Connell.

" What do I think?" Zack repeated, and Komui gave a nod.

" What, in your professional opinion, happened to Cecilea that night?" Komui reworded the sentence to help elaborate what he meant. Zack took the time to think about it. A longer amount of time then he might have on other cases because this one was proving difficult.

" To be sure, don't take my full word on this," Zack began for Komui, pointing at the scientist a moment, " we don't have sufficient evidence to really even come up with an appropriate theory to all of this. Nothing is ever decided until the very end, you need to keep that in mind for me, alright?"

" Of course." Komui replied with a nod. Zack believed him. Komui was many things, childish, strange, maybe even a bit on the crazy side, but what he wasn't was dishonest. That was a quality that Zack could easily take off of Komui simply by his open expressions. Someone that lied too much had a mask for a face, and Komui didn't have this.

" In my professional opinion," Zack began slowly, his elbows against his knees while he laced his fingers together and put them in front of his mouth," this was murder." Komui opened his mouth to speak, but Zack raised a hand to stop him. " A murder done by a person, not these akuma." This time Zack allowed the question that Komui had.

" How do you figure that it was human and not an akuma?" Komui inquired, and Zack took the envelop from Connell, rummaging through it for a moment before producing a second photo that he didn't allow Komui to see without a warning.

" This will be a shock for you. Be ready." Zack told him, then showed the photo to him. Komui's eyes instantly squeezed shut and he turned away with a look of disgust on his face. The investigators gave him a moment. It had been worthy of cringing from them too. To a regular man, this was the sort of thing you didn't even see in horror films.

Zack leaned over and pointed to one spot in particular. " This message left behind on the body indicates a personal connection to the victim." he explained to him, still wondering what the words " God Matter" could possibly mean. Then he moved on to point to another spot and another still after that. " All of these injuries suggest a sort of intimacy with the victim." Taking one last glance at it, Zack put the photo away from sight again.

" Akuma don't show a sort of intamacy with anything. They simply kill, there's no need for that sort of mutilation. It's not their purpose to go out an make a big, free willed idea like this."

Thinking about it, Komui nodded a kind of somewhat befuddled understanding.

" That makes sense. It doesn't seem the sort of behavior that akuma unusual exhibit." Komui agreed with him. Zack pointed at him.

" Exactly. So we had a human target, lucky for Connell and me." he sent a grin at Connell. " We know how to handle those kinds of monsters." Connell gave a grin back at him while Zack got back on track. " The killer was careful when dealing with the victim. Her body was cleaned before we found it, but it was left in a lone alleyway."

" Killers tend to favor areas that they are familiar with if a kill is intentional like it was here." Connell went on for him. " We believe the killer has lived or is living within the radius of a four hour time zone to the dump stop. That or at least frequents a place within the area we have mapped out."

" That places him in one of the suburbs or in the city itself." Zack had just noticed this now. " You're not going to like what I'm about to say either," he added, getting Komui's full attention," but the other chance is that the killer was from the city and is currently within these four walls of yours right now." That was met with a somewhat stunned silence.

Komui got to his feet pacing back and forth.

" That can't be!" he exclaimed, shaking his head out of somewhat desperation. " You think that one of our exorcists or staff members could be a killer? Do you have any idea what would happen if this information got out?" Zack gave a mild shrug of his shoulders to that comment.

" Large scale fighting within the Black Order. Branch pitted against branch until only half the Order is left standing and the other in ruin. Like having a brother fighting a brother from Civil War times. Riots, a repeat of history." Zack speculated, without even a hint that this thought unnerved him. Komui was far more horror stricken then this chief investigator.

" We don't have time to be fighting ourselves, ." Komui insisted to him, earnestly. " The war we fight is not only undercover, but one that we are on the losing side of. We need all of the people we have." Zack nodded, understanding what Komui was trying to say about all of this.

" We'll keep things as low key as we can while we're here." Zack assured him firmly, in a way that could reassure a dieing man in his final moments. Komui took his seat again. " In the mean time we need a list of all of Cecilea's associates. Especially intimate connections that she had with anyone that she was with."

" Close friends, relatives, boyfriends, girlfriends," Connell listed off as many as he could think of to Komui, " did anyone join the Black Order at the same time as her? Maybe someone who came from the same place as her. It's likely she's a former resident of the city." he added on while Komui began to list off the few people he could tell them he knew, with absolute certainty, that Cecilea was associated with.

" My belief is that she was called out to meet the killer somewhere, most likely by the killer himself, and ambushed by two or three people." Zack went on to explain after they'd taken down some names. " Most likely they were all people she was familiar with, explaining the lack of physical struggle she had with the killer."

"Together, these three took her down. Two of them were there for the sport of it. Maybe drugs were involved, maybe not. For all we know they just like that sort of thing, it doesn't matter." He shook his head with his brows turned downwards with thought. " We consider them 'tools' used by the killer. The killer is the mastermind behind the others. He's the one we want." There was another silence.

" That's the theory right now, anyways." Connell said after some time had passed, lightening the mood in an instant like he could do all so often. " At this stage, what we think happen doesn't tend to be what actually did happen. It's just a theory, and it's based on what little evidence we have thus far. We'll change what we think by what evidence we collect along the way." To that, Komui nodded his understanding again. He was very understanding of all of these facts being thrown at him. Very calm too, Zack noticed.

" That's all that we need for right now." Zack said, getting to his feet, Connell and Komui following suit of him. " If we need anything else we'll come find you here."

" Yes, definately. I'll be here." Komui answered with a smile at them both. " If there's any way for me to help, please let me know." Zack shook his head at this.

" There's no need for you to worry." he told Komui, noticing that he seemed very concerned about everything still.

" Yeah." Connell agreed with a childish sort of grin at Komui while Zack was already heading away. " We're professionals, and we're known for getting the job down with the best outcomes. Everything we can do will be done to it's fullest on our end-"

" CONNELL!" Zack snapped over his shoulder from the room beyond Komui's office.

" COMING!" Connell called in reply, turning to Komui quickly. " You can relax. Team DeRoy is on the case!" with that, Connell hurried after his boss, scurrying to catch Zack who'd gotten a big head start on him.~~~~~

Okay, so I realize just how corny that ending with Connell was, but come on! It's not _that_ bad, right? Right? Okay, maybe it was bad, but w/e. Anyways, reading and reviewing is good. Very good. Thanks for any and all input! Until next time!


	16. Case Sixteen: A Quiet Place

Next chapter! Writing spree! YIPPIE! ~~

" I could really use a cigarette." Zack commented after yet another interview. After they'd finished with Komui, they went to talk with three of the people he'd named as people associated with Cecelia. It was hardly even noon yet, and already he was sick of telling the story about how they'd been summoned by some unknown client to find the missing Cecelia. He was also getting tired of listening to the stories he heard.

" That's a swell way to start off quiting smoking, Zack." Connell was laughing at him for this need of a cigarette. Zack glared at him. " Let's go get lunch then. That will give us at least a small break before the next one." Zack nodded agreement with him.

" Maybe it'll take my mind off of the need to smoke too." he commented, and Connell was laughing at him again. " Hey, I'd like to see you do any better dealing with quitting an addiction."

" Unfortunately, my parents were so strict if they caught me with even just a single cigarette they'd have thrown me out of the house." Connell replied to him. " They were all about image, and I couldn't do anything like drinking. Probably the only thing that's kept me clean all these years." Grinning he added. " Though, anytime I was away from home like I was for college, I was always the one heading for the parties with beer and wine."

Zack grew a smile and chuckled to him. " When I graduated, I had only just been able to drink the wine they served at graduation." he laughed and Connell started laughing too. " Only just turned 21 two week prior to graduation."

" Oh my god." Connell laughed along, shaking his head. " College. What a weird time those years turned out to be." Zack agreed. Weird was the only way to really describe it at this stage, considering it had only been about a year or so since they'd graduated.

By then they'd made it to the dining hall and ordered their food. Just as they were about to sit down, Zack caught sight of a familiar face. It hadn't been even a day, but it already felt like it'd been a long time since he'd seen that face. Connell noticed him too. He sort of laughed, but nervously, glancing anxiously at Zack, not sure what exactly was going to happen next.

" Well, lookie who we have here." Zack said, coming up behind him. The exorcist in question jolted and looked up at Zack, annoyed. " Nice to see you again, Kanda." Kanda just glared at the pair of them, and picked up his chopsticks to start eating again.

" As friendly as ever, I see." Connell giggled, and the two of them settled down on the one side of the exorcist. Kanda didn't like this, obviously. " Hey! Don't look at me like that! It's really scary!" Connell was teasing, and it only reminded Kanda of Lavi again.  
This man just oozed that childishness that Komui and Lavi had, so much so that Kanda didn't dare think what would happen if the three were placed in the same room. He might have hit the man if not for the fact that Zack sat between Connell and Kanda.

" Cecelia." Zack said, so suddenly, Kanda looked at him rather lost for a moment in time as to what Zack was getting at. " That was her name." Now Kanda understood, and he went back to eating his meal.

" Someone has been busy." he commented.

" Yeah, me," Connell said, laughing, before pointing at Zack saying, " this guy just sits there and listens to everything like a lazy bum!" Abruptly, he got a hard hit to the back of the head the threw his face forwards so that it almost made contact with the table.

" Did you know her?" Zack asked Kanda now, seeming serious, though he didn't make eye contact with the older teen. Kanda found this man quite the mystery still. His mind couldn't help drifting back to the little girl and her invitation to "play" with her.

" No," he said in reply to Zack," not personally. I worked with her on one or two missions and I'd seen her around, but nothing more then that." That earned Kanda a nod from the investigator who seemed to be thinking things over as he often did.

" Any time recently?" he asked after a bit of time had passed.

" No." was Kanda's answer for him once again. Now the investigator bit his bottom lip, thinking about something. " Why do you need to know?" Zack blinked a moment, then regained his composure as he began to explain it to him.

" Well, I've got a few conflicting stories from the two people that we interviewed. I wanted some way to confirm one or the others story." Zack said, his voice becoming a bit thoughtful by the end. " If you'd seen her recently at some place at some time it would've helped, but since you haven't . . .Well, I guess I couldn't expect it to be that easy." he concluded with a sigh.

" We'll probably get a clearer story after we interview a few more people, Zack." Connell said to him, catching Kanda by surprise because he'd never heard the employee call his boss by his first name. Sighing, Zack nodded agreement to him.

" I know, I know," he agreed, sounding impatient," this is just an annoyance to me though. All of this beating around the bush and all I want is the answer to this case."

" I can finish up the interviews on my own if you want to do something else." Connell offered, but Zack shook his head at his employee instead.

" There's no way for me to gauge how trustworthy a person is if I'm not present. You can't do it while you're talking to the person at the same time." Zack said to him, propping his head on his hand while his elbow rested on the table top. " You can't catch the non-verbal ques that they give off while talking to someone at the same time. That's why I almost always have you interview a person with another team member present." He shook his head. "I'll muddle through it."

" Yeah, that's true." Connell agreed with him, leaning his head in a similar fashion as Zack against his hand. " Guess we'll just have to do things this way." Zack hummed in agreement to him, but was clearly not mentally in the room again after just an instant. Always, he was thinking. Kanda wondered what sorts of thought could be running through this man's head at a time like this.

" I'm going to see if our food's done." Connell said, getting up and leaving Kanda alone with Zack. There was a bit of time where they were quiet, Kanda keeping his mouth busy with food.

" Is there any place really quiet around here?" Zack asked him, getting Kanda sort of staring at him for a moment. A really quiet place? " Most of the places I've been so far are all so noisy. The only one that's been quiet has been the room, but that's not quite enough for me." He frowned, looking out across the crowds of people around the dining room as though he found everything they were doing and saying completely uninterested and pointless.

" Why do you ask?" Kanda inquired, sounding irritated. Zack was getting the idea that seeming irritated was just how he always sounded on any given day that someone approached him.

Either way, Zack let out a chuckle and scratched his head, sheepishly.

" Need a place quiet so I can get my thoughts straight." he answered, seeming almost embarrassed by this fact. " I need a place quiet to visit late at night to do my best thinking without anything interrupting me." Kanda sort of gave him a look, his chopsticks pressed to his lips as he gazed at Zack.

" There are some meditation rooms." he suggested to Zack. " They're quiet no matter what time of day it is, and there would only be the occasional interruptions of someone leaving or coming in." Zack's face was lighting up at this. That was something he really needed, a place like that. Meditation, that was something Zack should consider doing sometime. He made a mental note to himself to try it out sometime soon.

" Perfect!" he insisted, glancing over his shoulder to see that Connell was on his way back to the table." Don't mention this to Connell!" he said, putting a finger to his lip to emphasize his point. Frowning, Kanda gave him a look that suggested that what Zack had said to him kind of weirded him out.

" Meet me here after dinner and show me where the rooms are then, okay?" Kanda didn't have time to answer that because Connell was within earshot of them.

" Not yet. Another few minutes they told me." Connell told Zack who gave a nod to him. Zack got to his feet then.

" Well, then we'll leave you to your meal then, Kanda." Zack said, and the two investigators walked off with Kanda just sort of staring after them.~~

Later that evening, during dinner hour, Kanda caught sight of Zack. The investigator was with his partner and family, holding hands with the little girl as he talked with the older men about something. Once all of the men looked down at the little girl and they started laughing and smiling at something she must have said.

Kanda's eyes rested on the girl. An unusual case . . .? Those few words spiraled through his head any time he saw any of the four of them around. Strangely, Kanda saw them more often then might be expected in such a huge place as the Black Order. Most of the time Kanda slipped by without talking to them until Zack and Connell had approached him earlier that day.

That was another strange thing in all of this. A request to take him somewhere quiet? Even thinking about it made Kanda's blood boil. What a stupid thing to ask! The Order was big enough you could find a quiet place easily as long as you went down one of the side hallways. That wasn't that hard to figure out, why did he need Kanda to show him the way to some place like that? Maybe he would just skip meeting the investigator. The man could find it on his own . . .

But just then, Zack looked over at Kanda, seeing the exorcist easily with his keen eyes. Crap. Their eyes met, and the storm in Zack's eyes held Kanda in place. Those eyes were as intense as the storm that inhabited them.

Zack made a gesture towards the east entrance to the dining hall, meaning he wanted to meet there was Kanda's guess. It looked like Kanda was showing Zack the way no matter if he wanted to or not at this point.~~

The dining hall was still busy when Kanda made his way for the east entrance. Just outside the entrance, ensconced in the shadows around the side of it, Zack was waiting like a cat waited for a mouse to come out of it's hole. He had a large folder in hand, stuffed full of things Kanda didn't care to ask about.

" Thanks for coming to meet me." Zack said to Kanda, who just glared at him with that ever present annoyed look on his face.

To that Zack sort of giggled. Part of him knew that Kanda had thought of not coming at all, but felt obligated to come because Zack had spotted him earlier during dinner hour. Now, to Kanda, it probably felt like he got forced into all of this though Zack hadn't really done any such thing. Psychology was an amazing thing. Zack smiled thinking this while Kanda led the way for him.

" This won't need to happen again, will it?" Kanda inquired as they walked along, Zack's eyes drifting all around. He observed everything around, taking in what was on the walls and archways they passed along the way.

" No," he said, not even bothering to look at Kanda," I have a good memory. If you show me once, I can find my way." he gave a smile at Kanda's doubtful look. Of course Kanda didn't believe him, after all, it would mean that Zack had a photographic memory, which he didn't. " I pick out key objects to remember and keep a mental map of things. It's nothing special. Once you learn how to do it you can use it anytime you need it." He just kept looking around, taking in everything. His eyes seemed transcendent at times, the way that this investigator took things in with his eyes. Kanda wondered what the world looked like through Zack's eyes.

" You don't think very highly of yourself, do you?" Kanda inquired, noticing Zack's choice of words not for the first time since meeting him. Zack glanced at him then, looking a bit confused, then took to looking around again.

" No, it's not that," he replied, " not entirely at least." He gave a sigh as he went along, thinking now for the right words to use. " People expect a lot from me." Kanda looked at Zack a bit, needing more of an explanation then that. " In a way, I like to remind myself that I'm just one person." With that he added almost to himself. " That I'm just one human being in the grand scheme of things."

Now Kanda was staring, and Zack walked past him, looking curiously and pointing. " Is this the place you were talking about?" He asked, pushing open the door and looking in.

Within was a central room set around several other rooms. It was Chinese styled and very beautiful. Zack didn't get to see much of such styled buildings. They walked to the room farthest from the entrance. This room was also Chinese styled. It was set up according to the principles of Fengshu, Zack noticed as he looked around. The center of it was the spot set for meditation, the rest of the room having plants and a small waterfall accordingly so that the room had a great feeling of peacefulness and ease.

" Aw!" Zack was glad, a look of excitement on his face. " A quiet place! Excellent!" he insisted, heading right for the center spot and settling down instantly. There was a candle set up, and Zack quickly lights a match, saying a quick prayer as he lights it. Then he does the same for the other, so that he had enough light to work and began to through the things he'd brought with him.

Kanda just ended up standing at the door watching him do all of this. What a strange person this investigator was. Already he was ignoring Kanda and getting right to work, pulling out the things he had with him. Irritated, Kanda grunted and left him there.~~

The next morning, Kanda was making his way to meditate in the morning as he often did. It was always part of his routine, he went through these motions every morning when he was at the Order, which was too little to be healthy sometimes. Heading right for the back room like he always did, he halted in the door frame. He could have died then.

That idiotic investigator was still there! All of his things were spread far and wide about himself in the center circle, where he was laying on his stomach on top of one paper in particular. Walking in, Kanda was met with another surprise.

Zack was sleeping on his work.

He'd never left and must have dozed off during the night while he was working. His right cheek was pressed to the floor boards, his coat discarded in one of the corners of the room. As for what he wore, it was a white button down shirt that he'd un-tucked at some point, and his pants were gray and dressy. However, his shirt was wrinkled from sleep, leaving his lower back exposed to the open air, where Kanda had a very clear view of the man's gun. Unlike it's usual place on his belt, now it was stuffed in the back of his pants.

Over all not the sight Kanda wanted to see this early in the morning before meditating.

Stiff from annoyance, he gave Zack a kick with his foot, since he'd taken his shoes off at the entrance. He made sure it would be a nice jab in the ribs for the investigator. Kanda's foot felt how muscled his core was. Clearly the investigator wasn't a lazy man in any way.

Mildly, Zack blinked open his eyes. He looked around, his eyes glazed with sleep, and he rubbed them like a child. Giving a yawn, he only lifted himself from the floor ever so slightly with his black hair scattered and dangling over his eyes more then it had the previous day. Looking around, he observed the room a moment, then glanced lazily up at Kanda.

" Good mornin'." he greeted, clearly still not totally awake in his head. Kanda was tapping his foot impatiently with the man. What was his problem?

" You stayed overnight in the meditation room." Kanda growled at him, holding back his anger for now. Zack looked around again, as though only noticing for the first time.

" I did?" he asked. Then he put his head right back down on the floor again. "Opps."

" Don't just say 'Opps' and go back to sleep!" Kanda snarled now. " Go to your room and go to bed!" Zack didn't even look up at him now, his breathing slowing again.

" Just five more minutes. Please . . ." his voice drifted off into nothing, and Kanda gave him a kick again so that the man rolled onto his back now, though he managed to avoid the papers he had spread out somehow.

" GET-UP-NOW." Kanda did everything in his power to keep himself under control but this was just too much to deal with at six in the morning. His tolerance for things like this foolishness were lower in the morning when he'd just woken up then when he was really tired.

" I just wanna figure out one more thing . . ." Zack insisted, his eyes closed as he rolled back onto his stomach and settled right back down to fall asleep again. " I'll go to bed right after that . . ." his expression eased to that of peacefulness for sleeping again.

Kanda was staring a bit at this. This man spent long hours into the night working on this case, to the point he'd fallen asleep on it while laying on solid ply wood floors, and was saying things like that when he was half asleep? Was he obsessed with his work, or was he really working his hardest just for this case?

Well, since kicking him clearly wasn't working, Kanda walked right up and yanked the older man to his feet. Which might have been a mistake, when he thought about it after the fact. After all, Zack had been half asleep, and as soon as Kanda had grabbed him up, Zack's hand had flown to his gun. Kanda was getting very well acquainted with the dangerous end of Zack's gun at this point. The once lazy gray eyes had sharpened to a glare the instant Zack had felt something that could be a threat close to him, and there was a few tense moments that passed between Zack and Kanda.

Blinking, Zack's eyes lightened and went back to looking lazily at Kanda while he tucked the gun away.

" 'xcuse me. That was rude of me." he apologized, kneeling down and picking up his work in a flash of movement. Kanda had to wonder how the man could have such diction, half asleep to the world as he was now. Rubbing his eyes, Zack picked up the last paper and pencil together and looked it over.

His expression became intense again, Kanda noticed. Slowly, Zack was sitting down again, scribbling something down on the page, then more and more until he was fully engrossed in the task. Kanda could see that Zack had forgotten about even leaving the room, let alone getting sleep.

" Hey!" Kanda snapped again at Zack. " Get your ass off the ground and leave!"

It was becoming ever clear to the exorcist that this battle was was one he couldn't win. Zack only had full attention this early when it involved his case, if not, he drifted around like a child who'd been roused at six when school started at nine. If Kanda approached with any sort of threat in his step, a gun would be in his face along with a fully aware Zack. However, the instant the threat was gone, Zack was back to being too tired to care!

Slipping the paper away, Zack gave a wide yawn again and headed for the door, almost forgetting his coat. Kanda went and grabbed it for him, not daring to let Zack get it himself for fear that the man would be around even longer by some case related distraction within his coat. Shoving it into the investigator's arms he pushed Zack towards the door.

" Sorry," Zack apologized again before adding," thanks for showing me this place too. I appreciate it." Those seemed the most aware words that Zack had said to Kanda all morning, and the exorcist was staring at Zack again. Once more he found himself wondered what the world appeared like through those storming eyes while Zack turned and stumbled along like he was sleep walking.

He left Kanda staring there, wondering, with a sinking feeling in his stomach, if this was going to happen every morning now that Zack would be using this room for his work.

" Uh." Kanda grunted and turned back. Hopefully this was a one time deal.~~

" I think I did something really stupid this morning." Zack told Connell, Luke, and Cara later that morning, over breakfast with his employee. Connell's food dropped from his fork as he stared at his boss a moment before bursting into laughter. Annoyed, Zack puffed up. " What?" Luke and Cara were laughing like crazy too, which didn't make Zack feel any better about all of this.

" Chief, don't take this the wrong way," Connell began, still laughing like a giddy child," but you always do something stupid in the morning." Zack frowned, glaring at Connell who laughed even more with Luke and Cara.

" It's true, Zack." Luke told him, giggling now that he'd begun to regain his composure. " You really do the damnedest things in the mornings. It's hilarious that you only just now realized you do these things." Cara jumped up, looking excited as could be.

" I remember one time not long ago, I saw Zack still in his Pjs and he was wobbling around like he does every morning," Zack was already flushing at the description of "wobbling" around in the morning that Cara used," and he walked smack dab into a wall!"

That got loads of laughter from Connell and Luke. Cara was giggling while Zack's face just kept turning more and more red as she went on.

" I freaked out 'cause I thought it must have woken Zack up and he would be really mad 'cause he ran into something, but all he did was scratch his head and back up to walk down the hallway." Now that everyone but Zack was roaring with laughter, Zack shrank slightly in his seat. His face was redder then it ever had been before, he was so embarrassed by this new realization.

What made it worse was that Luke was his old college roommate and was currently providing Zack's place of residence back in the city. If anyone had funny morning stories about Zack, it would be Luke.

" That means I've been right all along!" Connell declared, proudly. " You do have low blood pressure!" Zack's head hit the table then with a definite thump. Oh, he was so far beyond embarrassed. He half wished he was invisible then. Luke gave a laugh.

" Ah! Well! Nobody is perfect." he said, giving Zack a comforting pat on the shoulder. Zack glanced up soon enough to see Connell nodding in agreement

" I've had people tell me I talk in my sleep, actually." Connell commented, thoughtfully. " Something about a washer one time and another about stealing a pool, I dunno." he shook his head while there were mild chuckles at his examples.

" Sleep does silly things to respectable people, and sillier things to silly people."~~~~~

What was the importance of this chapter? Basically nothing, but hey, watching serious characters get mixed up in funny situations is interesting, isn't it? That and I thought it would be fun to portray Zack in a less serious manner. Hopefully this amused you as much as it did me. If it didn't I apologize. Anyways, send REVIEWS! PLEASE! I can start begging if that's what it takes! Just send them my way! Thank you!


	17. Case Seventeen: What We Know

WHOA! Next chapter! Up and ready for all readers! Enjoy!~~~~

With that, Zack and Connell were back to work. The days was littered with more interviews that Zack had been dreading at this point. It couldn't be helped, and the longest interviews were usually the first. So far they'd found out some fairly useful information, but nothing really big that would point them towards one person in particular. It was frustrating for Zack in particular because of his eagerness to find new information.

" What have we got so far?" Zack asked his team, Connell and himself huddled around the computer screen while the other three members of Zack's team were on the another computer somewhere else. Zack was patting his arm with a bit of impatience from the beginning, which the entire team took as a " not good" sign.

" Cacasion female in her mid-twenties is murdered and dumbed on a 5th Avenue alleyway, around 4 am our time." Smith began, his arms crossed and looking equally as annoyed with all of this as Zack was.

" Our victim is exorcist Cecelia Rowin." Connell added in for them.

" She was taken in by the Black Order about five years ago when she left her former place of residence, 43 Eastwood. Her former house is within the four hour time limit radius we put around our victim's dump zone." Kennedy put in now as well, holding up the map in question while Zack and Connell looked over the copy that had been sent to them by Kennedy the day before.

" Her body was an absolute mess due to her line of work, if that's what you want to call it," Zagar spoke up this time, " she'd have had multiple surgeries to get these sorts of injuries fixed, but there are no records that these occured."

" Bank of the Black Order is my guess." Connell giggled getting a few strange looks from his co-workers. " That's what they do with any damage the exorcists do to buildings and such too. I found that out this morning via Lavi." Turning to Zack, he added on. " That kid is a gold mine of information, and he's more then willing to share if you ask him the right way." Zack shook his head at Connell.

" So long as you're not enjoying yourself too much, Connell, I could care less." he replied, sternly, fully focused on his work right now. " Meaning there's no way to track who did what surgery for our victim is what we're getting at in all of this right?"

" Yep." Kennedy was the one who answered this question. " I've checked it out myself. Nothing, they send out checks for repairs and injuries like they have money to spare there."

" Lucky them." Zagar muttered, while Kennedy gave a yawn at him.

" Our victim was killed in an area that has sand." Smith interjected, pointing at the map again. " This limits our crime scenes to areas with sand. Our possible options have also been limited due to our lack of an actual scene. Most likely the scene was wiped clean or washed away by some body of water. That left seven places, including the local resort." That earned him some chuckles from everyone. " I'm having the samples run as we speak."

Zack nodded approval to Smith. As always, Smith proved to be the dependable nature that Zack so needed from a team member like him.

" Our victim has a great many acquaintances, but few friends," now it was Connell's turn to show the fruits of his labor these past few days, " hardly anyone considers her a friend, though many admit to knowing her. She took particular liking to men, apparently. As one person put it she went through them 'faster then a child goes through candy after Halloween.'" That had the team snorting and giggling too.

" What an analogy that is." Zagar said with a huge laugh. " You better write that one down." Connell giggled at him too.

" Trust me, I already did. No way was I going to let myself forget that one!" he replied, and Zack cleared his throat loudly to get them all back to attention.

" Sorry, Chief." they all apologized.

" Anyways," Connell went on," overall people consider her a nice person. Friendly, easy to be around, but unnervingly confident around men." Zagar gave a snort at this too.

" Not that we didn't know that via the HIV." he stated, almost flatly, getting Zack annoyed.

" Yes, and now that we've confirmed it let's continue." Zack replied, and Zagar was silent after that.

" Yes, well," Connell went on now, getting everyone back on topic," most would describe her as well mannered, but often coming on a bit strongly especially when it involved a male counter part. About three of her former boyfriends have called her desperate and consider that the reason why the relationship didn't work out." There was a brief silence.

With no one else talking, it was a group agreement that the extent of information they had was at an end. Zack was still tapping his arm impatiently, then bit his thumb nail while he started pacing back and forth.

" That's still not enough," he told himself, his team members exchanging glances and watching while he mumbled to himself, " what are we missing? There's still not a suspect in the mix of any of this. Some of the people we need to interview at this end are out on missions, or have died. What to do, what to do . . .?" he went on for a bit longer of time thinking about this, then looked at the computer screen again.

" Kennedy," he began, holding his chin while he halted in his footsteps," did you do a background check on our victim yet?" Kennedy blinked a bit at him, then regained her composure, looking around at a few of the things that she had in front of herself.

" Yes, I did." she confirmed with a firm nod of her head. " I know I did."

" Can you find anyone that's still in town that was associated with Cecelia five years ago?" he asked, and Kennedy began to look through some of her things. " I'm sure there's got to be somebody who's still around that can tell us about her. When you find out who it is, take Zagar and talk to them. See if any of them have seen Cecelia recently."

" Right." Kennedy agreed, already clicking on a few different keys on her personal laptop.

" We need as much information as we can get for this case." Zack went on, looking between the others that hadn't been sent to work yet. " Zagar, find her former home and check it out."

" What if there's someone else already living there now?" Zagar protested, getting a challenging glare from Zack. Even through the computer, the message was as clear as the shiver that ran down Zagar's back.

" I don't care how you do it as long as you're careful, through, and don't get caught. Remember, I can't protect you from here in the Order. Don't do anything unnecessary or stupid." Zagar gave a sigh, then a grin while he shook his head and giggled at Zack.

" Right. I got it." despite the illegal nature that sometimes entered Zack's work, his team rather enjoyed it. Zagar, however, was the most against any illegal work, so Zack sending him to do this would greatly upset the man. It couldn't be helped, though, he was the man free for the job and in a position to do it. The dark skinned man would just have to deal with it.

" Smith," Zack turned to the final one," keep up the good work. Cross check any of the usable finger prints we have with any database you can find. Do anything you can to find out more." That was a vague command to give, Zack knew, and he hated not having anything more specific to give the man.

However, Zack knew Smith, and some how, some way, he always got exactly what Zack needed from him even with as little guidance as this. Now, Smith lowered his head and nodded to Zack.

" Gladly, Chief." he answered. Zack sent a glare at him then. He recognized that mocking tone when none of the others in the team did. Smith gave a small smile at Zack. " Sorry." the small murmur that Smith gave was sincere, which was good enough for Zack.

He really didn't understand why a man like Smith even worked under him at all. That guy was as smart as they come in this job, and was often threatening Zack or challenging him in some small way. It unnerved Zack, but no one else ever noticed it.

" What will Connell and you be doing, Chief?" Smith asked, now as Zack was about to turn and go for now. Zack gave him a look again, and the intention of the man seemed innocent enough, Zack supposed, though he always felt he was being mocked by Smith in some way or another.

" Connell's going to do a few more interviews of a few new associates of Cecelia's we've heard about." Zack said, brushing off the mockery because he didn't care if Smith was mocking him or not. It didn't matter to him as long as the case got solved, and Smith was an excellent person to bring such a result out of all of this.

" What about you?" Smith persisted on, curious as could be, though still talking with that soft voice of his.

" She's got to have a room in the Order." Zack replied easily. " I thought I'd check it out and see what she has there. Maybe she left a phone or computer behind for us. Either way, her room's bound to have something useful in it." Glancing at all of them, Zack said.  
" Be very careful, everyone. Be through, but don't let your guard down." with that he waved dismissal at them all, and the screen went blank.

Connell shut the screen looking at Zack.

" It's unusual for you to say that sort of thing, Chief." he commented while Zack pulled on his coat over his shoulders. " Is something bothering you?" Zack set to putting the collar of the coat in place, smoothing it with his hand.

" This entire case just makes me uneasy, Connell." he answered his employee without actually looking at him. " Working from two separate locations makes this twice as hard."

" The fact that you can't protect Zagar, Smith, and Kennedy from here is getting to you?" Connell asked, getting Zack staring at him. Connell gave a smile at him, sitting on his bed, one foot under himself while the other dangled off the side of the bed. " You're worried that what you're telling them to do will get them into trouble while you can't protect them."

Giving only a grunt, Zack turned away from his employee, hiding his face with the collar of his coat. Connell only gave a smile at him like a child that had just won the grand prize. Zack headed for the door.

" You know, you don't have to worry so much." Connell said, Zack halting at the door. " It's not your fault." Getting up, Connell stretched, pulling on one of his shoes. " If something goes wrong. It's not your fault that something goes wrong." Pulling on the other Connell knelt down to tie his shoes. There was a long few moments of silence.

" Even so," Zack began, not looking back at Connell as his employee straightened up, " if I send them to a place at a time when something goes wrong, what should I say to myself? What should I say to their families and friends?" Connell was frozen by the glare that Zack sent his way then. Without another word, Zack walked out the room, leaving Connell frozen where he stood until the door shut behind Zack.

" Oh dear," Connell said to himself, slumping to the ground now and laughing to himself sheepishly," I think I've made him angry with me again." ~~

It took a bit of arm twisting on Zack's part, but he got Komui to give him Cecila's room number and key to get in. Although, the way he'd come in stomping and looking a bit angry might have had something to do with that too. Zack gave a sigh now as he made his way down the hallway.

" What's with that look?" Zack nearly leaped out of his skin with that new voice. " Whoa! Didn't mean to scary you." was what Lavi said when Zack had jumped like he did.

" If you didn't mean to scare him, why'd you sneak up on him?" Allen asked, crossly of the older teen, coming up next to the two others them. Lavi gave a childish grin at Allen and giggled like a school boy.

" It's good to see you." Lavi said, ignoring Allen's question and talking to Zack instead. Zack gave a awkward nod. Really, Connell was the one good with people. The way Connell acted around others got Zack more relaxed with people too. Really Zack was inept when it comes to people. " It's rare to see you without your friend."

" Yeah," Allen agreed with Lavi, " it's like you're conjoined at the hip sometimes-" he stopped talking when he saw that Zack's mood had darkened a bit and that the investigator was muttering to himself in a low voice. So low that neither Allen or Lavi could make out a word he said. " Did you get in a fight with him?"

To that Zack only gave another sigh and pulled the hair back from his forehead.

" You could say that." he replied vaguely. Zack didn't like talking about his personal life, well, not with things like arguments and such was concerned. If it was something like Cara being his daughter, he was very open about those sorts of things. It was just the petty things that he rather keep to himself at least and until the problem was solved. " Really it's just me."

" Really?" Allen asked now, curious. Well, why wouldn't Allen be curious? He was a 15 year old kid no matter how mature he acted on the outside. " How do you know it's just you?"

" Because I know he's right." Zack replied, annoyed with himself. " If I already know that I was wrong and knew at the time of the argument that I was wrong, it means I'm being completely childish for arguing in the first place." he explained further for them when he saw the way they looked confused at his initial statement. Allen and Lavi glanced at each other then, stuck in an awkward silence at that point.

" Okay . . ." Allen said, clearly not getting it and not comfortable with the situation. Lavi was a bit more at ease with the circumstances and went on to talk next.

" If you knew he was right when you argued then why did the argument even happen?"he asked now. Zack gave an annoyed look, though it was still directed more at himself rather then what the two teens were saying to him.

" Because I'm being completely childish." he repeated this statement with a dismayed sound in his voice. For all the things he hated himself for, it was this sort of thing he hated the most. Any time something like this happened he felt like an idiot. " Not to mention it's just how I am." He sighed. " I'll need to apologize for this." It almost seemed like he was talking himself through it then having a conversation with two other people right then.

" Just how you are isn't a very good explanation for any of that." Lavi stated flatly at Zack. Allen was nodding agreement with Lavi on this one. Zack halted in his footsteps then, causing Allen and Lavi to walk a few steps past him before stopping themselves.

" What? Why'd you stop?" Lavi inquired as they took the step back to be next to him. Zack was busy looking between the room number Komui had written down for him and the one on the door. The science department leader had asked Zack why he didn't just take a minute to memorize the number, but Zack hated memorizing. It had been a stumbling block for him all through school, and he was strictly against it to this day.

" This is one of the exorcist's rooms-" Allen commented, curiously looking at the door while Zack dug into his pocket and pulled out a key, shoving the piece of paper back into the pocket opposite of the one he had the key in. Stepping forwards, he jammed the key into the lock with Allen and Lavi looking with interest beside him.

" This is my destination." Zack said, pushing open the door with careful fingers and taking a few ginger steps into the room. Allen and Lavi followed, wanting to know what it was that Zack was up to at this point. Allen flicked on the lights while Lavi shut the door, causing Zack to jump again. The exorcists both giggled this time and Zack turned stiffly towards them.

" Don't touch anything else, please?" he asked them through grinding teeth.

" Aye aye, Captain!" Lavi agreed with a smile at Zack.

" Chief." Zack replied without thinking, then felt like kicking himself for it when he got more laughing from Lavi and Allen. Chief is what the science department called Komui.

Zack had forgotten about that.

" Aye aye, Chief." Lavi repeated, laughing still.

With a sigh, Zack took to looking around the room and ignoring the two teens. Allen and Lavi started looking around too.

" This is a girl's room." Allen noted, craning his neck to glance at a poster of some celebrity that Zack didn't care to know anything about. " Why were you coming here? Is this someone you know?" he asked, looking at Zack. Zack grew a mocking smirk at this question.

" You could say I know her," he replied, choosing his words carefully," but I hope to get to know all about her by the time I leave the Order." Of course he couldn't be very specific in all of this because of the fact it was a case, and the agreement he'd made with Kanda about not saying that Cecelia was dead played into this too. However, this left room for the two teens to interpret his words as they will and, well . . .

" So, you're stalking her, Chief?" Lavi laughed when Zack leaped up in protest.

" NO, I AM NOT STALKING HER!" the last thing that Zack wanted going around the Order was that Zack DeRoy was some kind of stalker. However, Lavi gave a sly sort of look at him, which Zack knew, meant nothing good.

" But you said you hope to get to know all about her before you leave the Order." Allen pointed out, thinking he was being helpful in some way. Zack felt like strangling him for that comment.

" I know!" Lavi exclaimed. " You like her and you're too shy to talk to her!"

Oh, God . . .

Leaning onto Zack's shoulder, Lavi gave a sigh and shook his head. " That's the worst kind of love life. When she doesn't even know you exist." He gave Zack a pat on the back, an Zack could have died right then. Of all of the . . .!

" What? NO!" Zack snapped, jerking his shoulder free of Lavi, glaring. " Good God! It's nothing like that! UH!" Both his hands scratching his hair as if to rip the strands from his head he turned from them both. " AH! Forget it! Ignore what I said! I was babbling!" he declared this last line almost proudly, causing Allen and Lavi to glance at each other.

" Do you start babbling often?" Lavi asked him, expecting Zack to start protesting like he had for the talk about him being a stalker.

" Yes." was the answer he got to this question, however.

" -_-;"

Allen and Lavi had no reply for that one. Zack had stopped something by then, and had slipped his hand into one of his many pockets again. Lavi and Allen where watching Zack curiously while he slid on the elastic gloves and pushed his sleeves up out of his way.

" What exactly are you doing here, Zack?" Allen asked, serious now while they watched Zack start sifting through a few things on the desk. Picking up one of the papers on the table, Zack scanned the contents before putting it back with a dull look on his face.

" My work." he replied, unhelpful because they didn't know exactly what it was he did when he was working. " Don't you worry you're cute little heads about it. All you need to know is that my work is absolutely necessary for something that is very important to more then just me right now." He didn't even look at them while he said this, flipping through another few papers before finding a particular picture that caught his attention. Lavi had frowned at Zack's choice of words.

" 'Cute'?" he echoed. " How old do you think we are? Or are you really that old?"

" I can proudly say that I'm only 22." Zack answered Lavi with a frown at the suggestion that somehow he was old compared to an 18 year old. " If this was high school, I'd be a senior when you were a freshmen."

" And that's you're explanation for being able to call us 'cute'?" Lavi inquired raising a brow at him.

" I call Connell 'kid' and he's technically older then I am." Zack retorted rather matter of fact in manner while he looked at the photo in his hand, sliding out a small plastic bag and sliding the photo inside it.

Then something else, something far more interesting caught Zack's stormy eyes. He couldn't tear his eyes off of it even if he wanted to at that point. The young exorcists noticed his change in behavior and that the atmosphere around him had taken a serious turn.

" What is it, Zack?" Allen inquired, following Zack's eyes. However, Zack quickly blocked the two of them from seeing what it was he had his eyes on before.

" Nothing," he covered it up, quickly shuffling some of the papers on the table," I guess I've just never seen a girl keep something like this in such an open place." he pointed out something. The two boys glanced over and he was safe for now.

" What?" Lavi chimed in, confused, and Zack decided not saying anything was the best way to get out of things. It worked too, there was a long silence that followed while Zack rummaged through a few of the of the drawers on the desk. There he found more things that caught his full attention.

" What is this?" he murmured to himself, shutting this drawer and pulling open another. This one that shocked him the most. Now he couldn't hide it from the exorcists.

" What is it?" Allen asked, having a sense of desa vu as Lavi and he glanced inside the drawer.

It was a wide drawer that had a deep part for larger objects or simply to store more of something inside it then the average drawer allowed. However, now it was littered with pedals, a flower, a yellow rose to be exact. The pedals of this particular flower littered the bottom of the drawer.

" What's with the flower?" Lavi asked, reaching out his hand to grab the stem, but was unable to because Zack swatted his head away before he could lay a finger on it's delicate form.

" Can you two do something for me?" Zack asked, the two, not looking at them, his eyes locked on the flower within the desk. The seriousness of his voice alarmed the two young boys and they glanced at each other nervously. " Get Connell." They stood still a moment, not sure whether to move or stay put for a second. Zack quickly uprooted them both.

"GO! Get him now! Tell him to bring everything with him! Everything, you hear?" he snapped at the two and they hurried away.~~~~

And that, my friends/readers was the chapter. I rather enjoyed showing Zack "inept with people" side, though I think we all pretty much knew that before this lovely fiasco. Anyways, what do you think? Has the story been worth reading so far? Would Zack make an excellent stalker? Send me a review! Or two, or three, or . . . well, you get the idea. Review and have a nice day!


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